


té para tres

by oh-boleyn (scrxamitout)



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Families of Choice, Gen, Light Angst, Pregnancy, Sickness, but like not from abuse, canon abuse/non con, jane & kat - centric, jane is trying her best, kat is homeless, pregnant!jane, tw abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:47:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22687222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scrxamitout/pseuds/oh-boleyn
Summary: Moving into London was quite a thing. Something Jane had waited so long to do; she could almost not remember how much she dreamed when the opportunity first presented to her.Something she didn’t expect was seeing a young teen living in the street below her apartment.
Relationships: Jane Seymour & Katherine Howard
Comments: 55
Kudos: 275





	1. las tazas sobre el mantel

**Author's Note:**

> I know, I know. I have another on-going fanfic, but I wanted to write something for Jane and Kat since I love them and I never wrote a lot of Jane. Anyway this should be quite short (a three shot of sorts).  
> Title is from the song "Té para tres"  
> Lexi helped me as always and taught me what an intercom was! Hehe.

Moving into London was quite a thing. Something Jane had waited so long to do; she could almost not remember how much she dreamed when the opportunity first presented to her.

Having been born in Wiltshire, and later moved to Somerset meant that her life usually revolved around being in wide open spaces, with a lot of green grass and sometimes even animals. Small towns where everyone knew each other. Nothing compared to a big, global city like the capital of England.

Her apartment was quite small, but still enough for her. Jane had luckily secured herself a job in a fashion magazine, as a photograph designer, which meant that all she needed for an apartment was space for herself and any clothes she might need to recycle or fit for the next session.

Something she didn’t expect was seeing a young teen living in the street below her apartment.

Obviously, she knew her social status wasn’t the one everyone had. Her father, a college professor, was wealthy enough to grant her a good education and loan her money until she can get back on her feet. Investing almost all her money into coming straight to the city after breaking up with her boyfriend with whom she shared a house back in Devon wasn’t her wisest decision. But seeing such a young girl living on the street frightened her to no end.

* * *

“Hey, would you like to eat something with me?” Jane asked after the third day.

She made sure to always leave money to the girl, who could usually be found singing or drawing near the underground station during day hours. But having a little spare time and already began to take a liking to the girl made her want to offer just a little more.

The girl did not react, just watched her wide eyed, without moving.

“I would prefer not to.” Her voice is so small it’s barely audible for Jane.

It comes as a surprise, taking into consideration that she would hear her singing loud and clear for the past days, but now her voice sounded nothing like that.

“It’s okay, I’m sorry.” The older smiles.

She put some money into the hat that sat at her feet and started walking away.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

* * *

Catherine of Aragon is a stern, tall woman.

She is the chief editor of the magazine, and the tickling of her shoes can be heard from miles away. Her way to hold herself is just as stylish and elegant that Jane doesn’t think anyone in Somerset, or Devon was ever a half of it.

She smiles and nods at Jane, and it feels like a blessing has been given.

* * *

That night, when returning to her apartment, she makes a stop at the first fast food chain she can find, buying something for herself and to the girl. Jane goes back as soon as she can after that, trying to get the food to still be hot. The girl is sitting outside an empty store, with the art supplies already saved in her backpack.

“Hi, I brought you food.” Jane says.

“That’s really kind.” The girl smiles, taking the paper bag.

“I’m Jane.” She introduces herself.

“Katherine, with a K.” The younger mimics a smile, which is not really convincing.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Same to you.”

* * *

The next day Katherine is no longer where she was the night before, but the paper bag is still there, left totally untouched. It shocks Jane, who thought that it was a good gesture to begin with. Having no time to get offended, she keeps walking until arriving at the magazine.

The camera was already on its tripod, and the models were getting changed into their outfits for the day.

“Hi Jane!” Anna of Cleves, the photographer, greeted. “What’s up with that face?”

“Nothing it’s just… I brought food for a girl living in the street, and I saw it today and it was untouched.” She explained, getting out of her coat and hanging it.

“How do you know it was left untouched?” Anna questioned. “Did you go through the garbage?”

“No!” Seymour sounds offended. “I mean maybe… It’s just I saw the bag there and I wanted to know if she ate.”

Anna chuckles. “Have you considered that maybe getting food from strangers is like… rule number one of what  _ not  _ to do?”

“But it’s different she can trust me.” Jane tries to clarify.

“I know that, and you know that, but she doesn’t. Maybe next time buy her something closed, that you couldn’t possibly poison.” Cleves offer. “Now, how about we use  _ this _ leather jacket but with  _ that _ skirt?”

* * *

“Hi Jane.” Katherine smiles at the woman when she is passing through the street.

“Hi Katherine, I bought you this, I don’t know if you like it but I love them.”

Opening her backpack, she offers a box of Cadbury cookies. Those are nowhere near nutritious, not that fast food is, but the cookies can’t be even considered a meal.

“Thank you so much.” The girl says, opening the package and shoving a cookie on her mouth.

Jane can’t contain her smile, and takes the chance to say: “No problem, the offer for lunch is still up, just for your information.”

Katherine seems suddenly frightened, but keeps the smile on her face. “I would, but I’m busy right now.”

She shows the pencil in her hand.

“It’s alright, another day.” Seymour is about to leave when she decides against it. “Do you have a phone?”

“I don’t, sorry.” The teenager answers sadly.

“It’s okay…” She searches for a paper, writing down her address. “If you ever need something, just come.”

The girl gives a puzzled look. “Thank you, I will.”

* * *

Next morning is quite chaotic, and she doesn’t make it on time to check on Katherine.

First, she can’t get up from the bed, exhaustion keeping her down even when she doesn’t know why. Then, once she does get up, a dizziness invades her, almost making her go back to bed and call in sick, except that she can’t do that, not in a new job at least.

Jane tries to make herself the time, but she can’t. That doesn’t stop her from worrying about the girl for the rest of the day.

* * *

A week goes by and Katherine never comes, but still she slowly acts a little less nervous and automatic around Jane, even accepting Starbucks food that is well closed and some water bottles. Jane is sure the girl doesn’t trust her enough yet, but things start getting slowly better.

“Morning Katherine.” Jane greets, smiling.

The girl smiles back. Her smile never gets to her eyes, instead it looks quite sad. Just polite. Jane would probably also describe it as anxious, every time she hears her own name, she straightens the spine just a bit, trying to look taller or intimidating.

“Good morning, Jane.”

“I brought some stuff; I was wondering if you like hot chocolate? It’s getting pretty cold with the winter around the corner.” She offers Katherine the trail, which contains two hot chocolates.

Something she learned was that, if she let Katherine choose her drink, she would drink it. But if there was ever the slight difference between a cup and the other, she would just gently decline, justifying that she already ate or any other excuse that Jane was sure it was a lie.

“It’s not cold yet.” Katherine says, choosing a cup. “Thank you so much.”

“It’s no trouble.”

Jane takes a sip from the other cup, and just as she finishes it, the teenager takes a sip from hers.

“I brought a muffin too. I have to go to the office, but we can split it in halves, if that’s okay.”

“It’s not necessary. You don’t have to do that.” The younger replies, but Jane just offers it anyway.

“I have to go now, have a nice morning.”

“You too.”

Jane starts walking, getting away from Katherine.

A part of her wishes she could do more, but the younger girl just won’t ask for anything. Kat didn’t even always eat the food she was offered, and Jane was afraid of just giving the girl money. She heard it all, how you should never give money to someone in the streets because they will waste it on alcohol, or drugs. But Katherine was so amicable, she wouldn’t do that. Jane was almost sure. Almost.

It was the great barrier she was afraid of. Jane could still not be sure of what to do with a girl who she met just a week and a half ago, even the desire to help stopped her to just blindly trust the teenager.

She got to the magazine, just to find Catherine Parr already buzzing on caffeine.

“Morning Seymour!”

“Good morning, what have you drank?” She watches the woman’s hand. “Or how many of those?”

“Three? Maybe four? I don’t know. Aragon wants the photos for the article today, as soon as possible.” She explains.

“I sent them yesterday.”

“I know, but… She might have decided to change the whole article and we need more photos.”

“What? You know, never mind, I’m going to text Anna.” Jane takes her phone. ”What is the new article?”

“Blue, the new black.”

“Okay.” Jane finally takes a breath. “What are we supposed to do with the coats from the last cover?”

“Uh, keep them if you want?” Catherine questions, confused. “After all we are meant to do like those photos never existed.”

“Do you really think I can keep them?” Jane asks, thinking how good those could be for Katherine.

“Yes, keep them. In case someone needs them, I take the blame, but  _ please send her the photos. _ ” Parr begs.

* * *

The photos resulted in a quick shoot, consisting of a navy-blue background and different blue coats, going from light pale to dark night blue. The only problem consisted in a piece they weren’t sure if it was a blue green colour or turquoise. She hoped to have made the right decision for Aragon.

Going back home was harder than the shoot itself, since she had her hands full of the coats they didn’t need anymore. It varied from bring pink, to some black ones. Some of them were heavy, winter ones while others were perfect for summer rain.

“Katherine!” She exclaimed when she saw the brown locks of her hair.

“Jane…” The teenager went to help her.

“I have all of these from work, I thought you might like them.”

The girl shifted uncomfortably, her eyes looking at the ground. Jane noticed that she bit her lip. It was a sign that she was baffled about something.

“You don’t have to take them all, but I wish you would choose one. It will give me peace of mind.” Jane says, hoping not to sound as if she is trying to manipulate Katherine in any way.

The girl inspects for a second, before grabbing a black one with pink buttons: “May I keep this one?”

Jane nods.

* * *

“Hi, Edward.” She smiles at the camera.

Facetiming past midnight with her brother had become more and more common in the last days. Jane was not used to being far from her siblings, nor the rest of the family. Still, even with her strange headaches and fatigue, life in London was something incredible. The city had so much life, and history. Even so many curious tourists helped the atmosphere. It pained her to not be with her family, but her new life was joyful nonetheless.

“Hi Janey, tell me, how is it going?”

“Quite good. I’m so tired though.”

“Tired? How many parties did you attend?” He questions, half joking.

“Funny.” She retorts. “I have just been going to work and to check up on Katherine.”

“Just work? Lame.” Edward mocks his sister. “Who is Katherine?”

“She is a girl living down the street… She, uhm, literally lives on the street.”

Ripping the band aid off quickly was the best thing she could do.

“You are checking up on a girl living in the street?” He sighs. “You are the only one who does it…”

“Don’t say it as if it’s something bad.” Jane returns.

“It’s weird.”

“It shouldn’t be.” She is quick to defend herself.

“Chill out Jane, it’s not that deep.”

“But maybe it is.” Jane can feel her how it’s getting harder to talk without starting to cry. “I don’t understand how much it is… She doesn’t even want to accept food. Yesterday I left her a coat and I’m almost sure she left it anywhere because she can’t accept anything. For goodness sake, I don’t think I have heard her say any other thing that ‘it was not necessary’ or ‘thank you’! So maybe it  _ is  _ that deep.”

She takes a deep breath, while Edward tries to excuse himself saying: “I’m sorry, I didn’t think it meant that much.”

“Yeah, you didn’t. Good night.”

Jane doesn’t wait for him to say something, instead just hangs up the call.

* * *

Next morning was just horrible. She feels nauseous and her brain is almost exploding, but she still gets up and prepares herself for work. Walking through the streets is harder than she can remember, and panic creeps in when there is a street with a bloody name she never saw.

“Jane?” She feels a voice calling. “Are you okay?”

Everything goes slowly blur, finishing in Jane summoned into a total darkness.

* * *

Waking up in the hospital is not something she was waiting for. Her fatigue is obvious when she wakes up, and her faded memories give her the anticipated news of what she already knew. She had fainted. Jane can barely keep her eyes open when the doctor enters the room, trying to get all the information he can.

He also informs that Katherine is outside, and she was the one who called an ambulance. Jane couldn’t possibly be more thankful for the acts of the girl, but in her dizzy state words can’t come out of her mind as she wanted them to come. Instead she keeps just answering questions.

The only moment that stands clearly in her mind is when the doctor starts talking about blood test results, words like anaemia and HCG are glimpses that she catches until the three words that sat heavy on her stomach.

“You are pregnant.”

* * *

When the older one is released, it’s raining outside. They, or rather Jane, decide to take a cab home. Once there, Katherine just simply says goodbye and leaves, walking back to the place where Jane usually found her. Jane notices the girl doesn’t have the coat she left her the other day.

“Katherine!” Jane screams. The girl turns around.

“Go to your house, it’s raining. You have to take care of yourself.”

“Come with me.” She asks. The girl opens her eyes wide.

“No, I can’t.”

“Yes, you can. It’s raining.” Jane says as if it wasn’t obvious.

“I know, I’m used to it. Go to your house.” She wraps her arms around, making a barrier between her and Jane.

“Please just come. Just one night.” The teenager clearly doesn’t want to, but Jane can’t leave her alone. “Or I will stay here.”

Jane knows inside her it is wrong. She shouldn’t be trying to manipulate the younger into doing something she doesn’t want to, but the raining and the news is too much. She feels so on edge, that if she said that bringing Katherine in was a selfless act, that would be plainly lying.

“You can’t stay here. It’s not safe.”

“I say the same to you.” Jane takes a breath. “Please.”

“I can’t go in there.”

“Let me take you out for dinner then.”

Katherine seems to think about it for a moment, before nodding. Jane takes the lead and starts walking to a diner a block away. The teenager doesn’t say a word, instead just walks as fast as she can, and lets Jane walk where she is less likely to get damp with the rain. Once they arrive, they settle for a table near a window.

“You can ask for whatever you want, take this as a thank you for helping me today.” Jane speaks calmly.

Maybe saying that can make Katherine know she earned it, and the girl will actually order something.

“It’s not necessary.”

“But I want to. I don’t know what could’ve happened to me without you.” The older smiles.

“Probably someone else could’ve helped.” Katherine smiles timidly.

“I’m not sure, people here in London don’t seem quite amicable.” Jane shrugged.

“In London? Do you come from somewhere else?”

“Yes, I lived in Devon with my ex before moving here.” Katherine opens her mouth when Jane finishes talking, but quickly shuts it. “It’s okay if you want to ask questions, if the question is if the baby is his, the answer is yes.”

The teen gives a sympathetic look, but talks: “I have always lived here, in London, except for a summer I spent in my step-grandmother’s house in Sussex.”

“That sounds nice.” Jane says, but quickly regrets it when the younger flinches.

“Do you mind if I order pasta?” Katherine questions, voice small.

“No! No problem, I think I will do the same.”

“I haven’t had pasta in a long time, I think since I was thirteen.”

“How old are you?” Jane wonders, hoping not to sound rude.

“Fifteen, I turn sixteen in two months.”

The older is lost for words, this girl is just a kid. She probably hasn’t even finished secondary school, and is living all by herself apparently. Under this new information, Jane can totally see it now. How small her contexture is, not grown up, the way she sits, her nails bitten down. There are a lot of indicators of her age, and Jane feels more uneasy than before.

“I know I look older; I’ve been told that.” Katherine breaks the silence, uncomfortable.

“No, it’s not that.” Jane snaps out of her thoughts. “I was just processing today’s information.”

Katherine nods, clearly uncomfortable, but for Jane’s luck the waiter quickly arrives with water and asks for their orders. The teenager asks for plain pasta, until Jane reassures her it’s okay to ask for more. She changes it just to add some sauce that doesn’t sound too gross, and the older happily asks for the same. They stay a moment like that, with Kat just taking in the restaurant.

If she said she remembered going to one like this, she would be lying. After her mother died, her memories are plagued by being in her house, alone with Henry Manox. The summer spent with her step-grandmother is just a vague memory of something her brain tried to forget. Then it’s all about living in the street, trying to live by with what charities offered and painting and singing to anyone who could lend her some money.

“In case you want another coat, I still have the rest in my apartment.” Jane says.

“Why are you doing this?” Katherine asks, manners forgotten. “What do you want?”

Jane purses her lips for a second and then releases them: “I don’t want anything, but I am worried about you. I don’t want to see you suffer.”

“I’m not suffering.” The teenager responds, even if she is not sure. “I don’t need your worry.”

Jane is lost for words.

“I’m sorry for being rude.” Katherine murmurs.

“Don’t be. I get it.” Jane takes a sip of her water. “I just want to do something good. I had a hard time with my ex. We didn’t break up in good terms, nowhere near it. I needed help and even if my family loves me, they weren’t there for me. I wanted to just try and help someone, and I thought you would want help.”

The younger takes a moment before talking. Jane looks vulnerable, something adults usually don’t look. A part of her wants to just believe this is a lie, and nobody is going to just help because they had a rough time. All the kindness the woman showed her is enough to prevent her from just storming out of the room.

“I don’t want help, but I appreciate it.” She concludes, before putting a smile. “What is your favourite colour?”

Jane laughs at the lightness that question brings to the conversation.

* * *

Jane takes her time, and decides to have the baby. She is not ready, and she knows it. Utter fear rises from her every time she thinks about it, but still she manages to make that decision.

Her neat calendar starts to become full of the different doctor appointments and parental classes. She tries to get her hands in any parenting book she can find. Her usual morning coffee changes for tea, and she changes her diet trying to avoid the morning sickness.

The only thing that remains without a change is worrying about Katherine, who starts taking dinner once a week with Jane, and asks her about how the pregnancy is going. The teenager is the only one aware of it, and it brings joy to the older having the chance to talk about it.

* * *

One-night Jane wakes up abruptly, a tremendous noise ringing in her ears. She realizes it’s the buzzer and moves to the intercom. 

“Hello? Who is downstairs?”

“Katherine.” She says between sobs. “I’m sorry to bother you- “

Jane talks before she can finish: “I’m going to get you wait a second.”

She throws a coat and goes straight into the elevator, once she gets out the first thing she notices is Katherine with tears streaming down her face. Jane almost runs, and when she opens the door, the younger clings to her.

“I think I saw Manox.”

Jane starts drawing paths on her back, trying to get her to calm down.

“Do you want to go upstairs, sweetheart?”

Katherine finally nods.


	2. un poco de miel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> things get better before they get worse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiii! alright first things first: lexi, I can't express how grateful I am for how much you tolerate me sending a hundred version of this chapter  
> second: I divided this chapter in two or else it was too long (like 6800 words long), so yes, I have next chapter almost finished, I might post it tomorrow, but read the notes at the end

They get into the apartment. Katherine is a mess, but getting slowly better. Her eyes are red rimmed for all the crying, cheeks puffy and crimson. Jane takes a moment to contemplate her. If she didn’t before, she certainly looks like a child now, small, curled up on herself, and young — so young. Her clothes are obviously too big, hanging from her body. She is more than thin, probably what is expected from someone living on the street, but definitely not healthy.

“Would you like a cup of tea?” Jane offers, fighting an urge to reach out to the girl.

“Yes.”

She puts her hands to use in making the tea, trying to calm the itch to touch the teen, while Katherine stands awkwardly calming her breath in the middle of the room. She doesn’t want to be alone, but at the same time is too afraid to ask for the older to stay with her.

Jane sets two mugs on the table, gesturing to Katherine to take a seat. She obeys, almost instantly. The long-sleeved shirt and a pair of leggings, catches Jane’s attention. If she still feels freezing with her coat on, the girl must be gelid.

“Are you cold?” She questions.

Katherine shrugs, without giving a proper answer. Jane doesn’t push for one. She extends a hand over the table, slowly, making sure to not overwhelm the other with the gesture. Surprise comes when the hand is quickly grabbed by Katherine, who starts crying again.

Jane moves forward and embraces Kat, letting her cry without trying to stop her. As expected, she is icy, and the future mother is growing afraid about her catching a cold or something worse. Searching for Kat’s bag, she realizes that the usual backpack is not with her.

“Sweetheart,” The way to call her comes almost instinctive for Jane, who hates herself for a moment thinking she might make Katherine uncomfortable. “do you have something with you?”

“I… I ran.” It enough for Jane to shush her.

“Would you like to take a shower?”

“Can I stay with you for a moment?” Katherine almost begs.

“Yes, as you wish, but you are going to get sick, so I will go for a blanket, would that be alright?”

The girl dissents.

“If we went for one, would that be better?”

She repeats the movement.

“I’m so sorry Jane.” Her voice breaks. “I’m truly sorry.”

“It’s alright Kat, it’s alright.”

They spend the night just sitting, drinking the tea that at some point lost its warmth, talking about trivialities. There is a stiffness in the air none of them can erase, and Katherine flinches from time to time, depending on a sound or a sudden movement. Jane gets Kat to smile at some point, which is more than what she was expecting.

The older woman thinks her words over time and time again, hesitant to not lose all the progress they made, but reluctant to just rely on it. She knows Kat is frightened, and she deserves to feel safe, but Jane is not sure how she can manage to do so. That doesn’t stop her from trying.

(…)

Next morning finds them in little to no sleep, with Katherine asking Jane to please go and rest. The older one does the same to her. After the initial unwillingness, the teenager agrees to sleep on the couch.

(…)

Katherine is confused when she wakes up.

She has a headache, mind foggy about last night's events. Memories don’t come instantly, and panic creeps in. The air of her lungs missing, she guides a hand to her chest. Kat is inside a house, but can’t remember how that happened.

“Kathy? Love?” Jane calls. “Breathe with me.”

She can hear someone talking, but can’t process the words. She can’t distinguish the hand touching her arm, nor the woman in front of her. Her body seems to not belong to her mind, and instead she freezes, but her breath remains hard and troubled.

When she snaps back, blue eyes stare at her.

“I’m sorry.” She mutters.

“It’s alright love.”

(…)

“I think I will be going, thank you for today.” Katherine says, but Jane stops her.

“You can stay.” She offers it before having the chance to really think about it. “You can stay here, at least until you get back your things.”

Katherine forgot it. Her bag was just left in the street, it was probably gone by now. It happened to have all her clothes and her toothbrush, and most importantly her art supplies. The money earned the previous evening was the only thing in her pockets.

The fear goes down her spine, even if Jane has just been kind to her, how long would it take for her to get tired? To stop helping? Nobody was just kind because it was the right thing to do. The world didn’t work around generosity.

“I don’t want to stay.” She snaps.

As soon as she said it, a part of her was sure it was a lie.

The apartment, even if scary, was great. It had water. Since they met, Jane gave her food regularly. Katherine was eating almost every day, as well as talking to someone. It felt like being back to being alive. Almost as if she was a person again.

“What if I offer you just a place to stay at night?” Jane questioned. “You can spend your day doing whatever you want to do, I won’t stop you, but you have to come here before dinner.”

Her voice is stern, the older knows she can’t take back the proposal once it’s done. The fear lays heavy on her, after watching the girl yesterday it only became worse. She doesn’t know Katherine, not at all. All she knows are trivialities, her liking for the colour pink and one or two stories about her past.

A part of her trust the teenager, maybe considering her too young to even be evil, or it could be just her own naiveté.

“What’s the catch? What do you want in return?”

“Nothing.” Jane is quick to say it. “But you  _ will _ have to respect some rules, such as not doing drugs nor make anything that could cause us harm. I might ask for help from time to time. Outside that, nothing more.”

“I’m not a charity case for you to feel better with yourself.”

“I know.”

“Good.” Katherine toys with her fingers. “I just need time to get back on my feet, that’s all.”

“You have all the time you need.”

(…)

Jane notices Kat wakes up first, every day, without fail.

She just bolts awake, and when the older comes out of her room, she is usually resting on the couch, toying with her hands.

The first task Katherine receives relates to it.

Consisting on turning the TV on, and enjoying herself watching whatever she wants until the clock marks five minutes before Jane’s alarm. The teenager’s obligation is making the tea while Jane fixes something for both of them to eat, normally eggs, tomatoes and bread for the pregnant woman, morning sickness deciding it was the only plate she might eat without throwing up, while Katherine ate what Jane offered, one time even offering pancakes.

The second task is helping her before dinner, helping with the clothes for the next shoot. Katherine gets to keep some garments, which are gladly received after the lost bag. She never keeps anything that appears to be too expensive, nor anything that can’t fit in the new backpack she got from a charity, still Jane keeps it all, just in case Katherine might want it someday.

The third task she takes it herself. Katherine starts cleaning the dishes every night after dinner, just before moving to the couch. It makes her feel better, less guilty about living off Jane. She starts considering that maybe good things can happen to her.

(…)

Working is not exactly as great as it used to be.

Jane gets headaches at any given moment, and without having the capacity of just taking any pill to make them disappear, her work load gets heavier to do. She almost ends up mixing the light orange shirts with the sweet peach ones, what could’ve been a chaos if they did the shot that way.

Katherine’s well being still worries her, even if she spends more time in the house nowadays, she is still not living there, and she spends hours on the street. Jane is afraid that one day she might not come back, that something might happen to her, but she pushes through.

“Everything okay?” Anna questions.

“I am just worrying over Kath.”

“Whom?” Cathy interrupts.

“Katherine, she is a girl from the street who is staying with me at night.” Jane explains.

“That is kind, Seymour.” Aragon talks.

The three women stare at her for a moment, not knowing about their boss's presence.

“We will get back to work.” Anna says, turning to grab her camera.

“Girls, don’t worry.” Catherine makes a sign to Anna for her to return to the conversation. “How old is this girl?”

“Fifteen. She should be turning sixteen soon.”

“Oh, she is younger than Mary. Fifteen is a rough age.”

“She is a lovely child, still she doesn’t talk a lot.” Jane takes a deep breath. “I have been taking the extra clothes home for her, I hope that is not a problem.”

“It isn’t. God knows people in fashion think that wearing something twice is bad. As if!” Aragon offers a smile. “Gift her any extra clothes. But gift  _ me _ the summer photoshoot.”

(…)

"Kat? Do you mind sharing the couch?" Jane asks, softly.

"No, why?"

"I am not tired, at all. Must be some second trimester thing. Do you want to watch a movie?" She proposes.

"Sure. Let me clean the dishes first."

Katherine moves from the table, taking the plates with her. Jane shifts to the couch, turning on the TV. She idles changing channels, settling on a movie that is just starting when the teenager comes to sit next to her. They stare at it for a while, without talking nor sitting closer, still it's comfortable.

"I think I saw this movie, but I can't remember." Katherine comments.

"Do you want to see something else?"

"No, not really. I like comedies." The teenager smiles.

Moving slowly, she rests her head on Jane's shoulder. The older one helped her settle.

Before she realizes, Katherine is peacefully asleep, snorting softly, more relaxed than what Jane ever saw her. It makes her consider that the girl practically looks happy, far from the haunted look she had the first time she got into the house.

That night, both of them sleep on the couch.

(…)

Katherine bites her tongue not to announce that it was her birthday.

Jane doesn’t understand why the teenager is acting so angry, snapping at her at any given chance. For the last week or so she acted different, strange. Almost getting in too late, and refusing to finish her food. She seemed to be anywhere else, not living in the moment but rather being in another world.

If it wasn’t because she found her crying just before going to sleep, she wouldn’t have known.

“Kath? Dearest? What’s going on?”

“It’s my birthday.” Katherine talks between sobs.

Jane gives a glance to the clock and grabs two coats.

“Wear this, we are going out.”

Katherine is afraid that it might be Jane’s way to kick her out. She changes as quickly as she can with trembling hands. She makes sure to take her bag, thinking if her new toothbrush is there.

They get to a 24 hours café, where Jane orders two pieces of cake as soon as they arrive.

“If I had known, we would have done this way sooner.” She smiles. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you we were coming here, I was afraid it might be closed and didn’t want to give you false hope. But, cake is on it’s way. Happy birthday, Katherine.”

Tears are streaming freely down her face.

“It is the first time I hear it in three years.” She confesses. “I have been living three years as if I don’t exist. People walked past me and didn’t care. I was kicked out of stores, restaurants, malls. I felt like I have forgotten kindness, I hated this day and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but it is easier this way, protect myself. I don’t want to be a nobody without a birthday.”

“Love, you are not a nobody. You are Katherine, the girl who sleeps on my couch and watches Disney before I am even awake. I am so fond of you; you don’t have an idea.” She kisses the teenager’s temple. “You are not a nobody for me, and probably for the baby in the future. I want you to stick around. Maybe next year you can have a proper birthday, what do you say?”

Katherine squeezes herself on Jane’s side, hugging her strong but carefully not to put so much pressure in the growing bump.

“Happy birthday, love.” Jane whispers, stroking the girl’s hair.

(…)

One day, the older woman wakes up to quiet sobs coming from the bathroom. She arises from bed, careful. The couch looks like a mess, and one of the pillows is without its case.

“Katherine? Sweetheart? Are you in the bathroom?”

“Yes, I will come out in a minute, I swear.”

“Do you have clothes on? Can I come in?”

The teenager doesn’t answer, but she opens the door.

“I’m so sorry, but it’s just…” Her breath is heavy, and there are traces of tears on her cheeks. “I got my period, and I made a bit of a mess, and I don’t have pads, and- “

Jane shushes her. “Don’t worry, periods are normal.” She opens the cabinet, grabbing a pack of pads. “Here, use them, it’s not like I can find them of any use right now.”

She laughs, putting a hand slowly on her stomach. It is still not noticeable, but there is a swell that wasn’t there before.

“Clean yourself, I will bring some clothes.” Jane takes the pillowcase, and before crossing the door, questions: “Do you want a painkiller?”

“Please.” Kat begs.

When she is left alone, the teenager starts getting into the shower, feeling warm water on her skin. It’s the first time she decides to have a real shower. Most of the time she cleaned herself as best as she could, trying to not take her clothes away in case someone spied on her, but Jane proved to be trustworthy, hence why she was slowly relaxing.

The truth was that Jane could also kick her out any day, so she shouldn’t fall into fully relaxing. Turning sixteen meant more chances to find a job, trying to have money for herself. Still, no one wanted to hire a girl without studies or even a fixed address. Katherine trusted herself, she had been living and passing by for most of her –if not her whole— teenage life.

Hearing a knock on her door, she lets Jane come in. The curtain of the shower covering her.

“I left you some clothes, I think those should fit you well, Cathy gave them to you.” She makes a pause. “I also left underwear, it’s new, I have some more in my wardrobe in case wanted or needed.”

Katherine hears the door click, and slowly goes out of the shower.

There lays new underwear, including a black sports bra. Also, a pair of leggings, a shirt and a bright pink pullover. She quickly changes, making sure not to leave a wet path behind her, and cleaning any chaos she might’ve left behind.

Jane is in the kitchen, waiting for her.

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to be, periods are just natural.” Jane says. “How long does your period last? Do you want me to buy you more pads?”

Katherine twitches her nose. “I don’t know, it’s my first period.”

Jane frowns.

“Living on the street meant not eating every day, I once spent four days without eating. A lady told me that might be the reason I never got my period. She gifted me pads, but they stole that backpack not long after.”

“I will just say, periods are gross, and painful sometimes. I’m here if you need me, even if I am luckily not having my periods for some more months.”

The way Jane laughs helps Katherine to relax, falling into the comfortable house they have started to build. It was strange, that knowing each other for a couple of months they felt like they belonged. A familiar feeling, as something long lost.

(…)

(...)

"Katherine, do you have something to do today?"

"I was going to try and get some money, you know singing. I need to get my art stuff back, people pay more for that rather than any singing I can do." She explained.

"I will pay you if you help me grocery shopping." Jane offers.

"No, don't pay me. I'll go but don't pay me, you are doing enough already." Katherine says. "When are we going?"

"I will change clothes first, are you ready?" Jane questions.

"Yeah, sure."

They get to the store not long after, deciding on going with public transport instead of taking a taxi.

Katherine can feel her anxiety building up. Walking through the entrance is dreadful, something she clearly doesn't want to do, but Jane is talking so happily and carelessly that the idea of running away makes her feel guilty.

She pulls through it. Nobody asks her to go away, instead they are nice. When Jane asks where the sugar aisle is a man smiles and offers to take them there. People are not surprised or disgusted by her presence like they usually were, they just don’t care. Not in a bad way, but rather a normal one. Not like she is invisible, but as she is an equal.

They pass through an aisle with lots of hair products, and Katherine stares at it for a moment.

“Do you want hair dye?” Jane questions.

“No, thank you.”

“You sure? I love weird hair color.” She gives an attentive look. “Look, they have fuchsia! It would look so good on you.”

“Really?” Katherine looks unconvinced, but the idea tempts her.

“Yes! Really.” Jane picks it. “I can dye your hair today when we get home. What do you think?”

Katherine nods.

Her anxiety driven day ends up with both of them in the bathroom, reading how to apply the dye while eating the cookies they got from their trip back. For a night, she gives herself the opportunity to just be a teenager, caring about her hair and looks.

It feels good.

Being with Jane feels good.

(…)

“I don’t want to go there.” The teenager protests.

“But they can help you, they have programs to go back to school.”

“Those places are dumb, and you are dumber if you think I am going.”

Katherine was being impossible.

Sooner or later she had to start planning her future, a future that didn’t involve living on the streets, but when bringing back any organization that might help, the younger refused. Didn’t even want to check the websites, nor talk about it.

Was her baby going to be so stubborn?

“Why? Please, just give me a reason.” Jane begged.

“I don’t like those places; I went to most of them. They offer help but don’t have anything.” Katherine explained, voice growing lower. “I went there for the first few nights, and it was horrible. If you are not there really soon, they no longer have beds. And older teenagers are more used to being on the street, they take advantage and…” There were tears in her eyes. “I don’t like it. Don’t send me away.”

“I won’t.”

Katherine released a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

“I won’t send you away Kath, I just want the best for you.” Her voice is sweet, soothing. “I know you are brilliant, and would do great in school.”

They stay in silence.

Katherine’s mind is reprimanding herself for what she said. Jane always had a family, a place to live. She didn’t understand at all what she was going through. How many times her things got stolen to the point she almost didn’t care when it happened again. How many nights she stayed up, afraid of any men walking on the street.

Jane didn’t know about Thomas, how he took her to his apartment, and made her sleep on his bed. Didn’t know about Francis, about last summer at her step-grandmother’s house. Didn’t know about Manox, about his music lessons.

She knew the older woman was trying her best, which was more than what any other person tried to do.

(…)

“You haven’t told your family?” Katherine questions.

Jane shrugs, finishing eating her lunch.

Today was her fifth month checkup, and they decided to have lunch together until the older had to go. Feeling at ease with each other was slowly getting more common. Starting activities such as watching movies or cooking together helped with their relationship, to the point Katherine almost considered Jane as a mentor.

“I wanted to wait, pregnancies before three months can be considered as risky ones. I was afraid I might lose it.” She explained, guiding a hand to her stomach. “But now I just fear their reaction.”

The teenager goes slightly pale, her eyes inspecting Jane before she asks: “Would they hate you?”

“No, they won’t. But I don’t think they would be happy either.” She makes a pause. “Do you want to come with me?”

Katherine eagerly nods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay!! basically comment if you would like next update tomorrow but I don't know when I will publish the next one (I'm on a trip, and won't have as much time to write this week), or if you prefer I post next week! also as always comments and kudos are lovely! <3  
> thanks for reading!


	3. la lluvia derramada

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> things get worse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here it is! I haven't proof read but Lexi corrected most of the chapter, anyone who reads this owes her a lot because she made more than 100 corrections.  
> TW: premature labor.  
> Also, this chapter is has a rather angsty ending, I'm just warning you.

They take a taxi to the doctor’s office. The cold weather is not helping them to just walk or try any other route.

“Are you going to find out the baby’s gender?”

“Probably not. I want it to be a surprise.” Jane explains. “What do you think they’ll be?”

“I don’t know. I’m not good with guesses. Have you thought about names?”

“I would like to name them after a family member. It’s a family tradition I don’t want to lose.”

“Tell me names.”

“My father’s name is John.”

“Too plain.”

“Margaery.”

“I like it.” Katherine smiles.

“Edward?”

“Yes! It sounds like a prince's name, something out of Disney.” The teenager nods. “Who is Edward?”

“My brother.” Jane states. “He is my confidant, and he is there for me every time I need him.”

“Is he a good person?”

“Yes, he is.”

* * *

At first Katherine refused to search for her family, but she knows that unless waiting until eighteen was a goal, she should contact them, at least to get her job permission signed, or any document that releases them from being their legal guardians.

What she didn’t know was that her cousin, already in her late-twenties, would want to meet her.

She introduces herself as Anne Boleyn, and it would be a lie if Katherine said that she had never heard that name. They look nothing alike. Anne is shorter than her, has pale skin, green eyes and a round face. She is kind, but tense. Katherine can’t decide if she likes her or not.

Anne is way too enthusiastic for Kat’s liking.

Their first meeting goes rather political, but not as family is supposed to be.

Still, they decide to meet again. 

* * *

Jane never thought Katherine would love hair dye so much, but now for the second time in a row they were sitting on the bathroom, applying electric pink dye to the girl’s hair. Anna recommended changing brands, mostly to not ruin her hair. Cathy also stepped in suggesting that once a month was an alright amount of time, but that doing it less frequent is better.

Still, Jane buys two boxes. If she can give Katherine a sense of stability, she will. Even if stability means dying her hair the same day every month.

* * *

“I can’t remember baking cookies, like ever.” Katherine comments, breaking an egg.

“You are missing a lot.”

Jane looks bright, like the sun. For the teenager, she looks like the standard picture of some announce. Her blond hair is up in a bun, which is not messy but not immaculate, her blue eyes are sparkling warm. She’s wearing a lose overall, with a yellow shirt. Her bump clearly there.

“Do you bake often?”

“No, not really. I used to, when I was younger.” Jane explains. “Can you measure the sugar? I need a cup.”

“Sure.” Kat moves, doing her task. “Why don’t you? If you love baking so much, you should do it more often.”

“I just don’t have the time.” She takes the flour. “Now I do, but before, living with my ex and college. It was just a lot; I never had the time to do it all.”

“Do you miss it? Your life before?”

“No, I don’t think I do.” Jane smiles. “I have better things now.”

She gives Kat a kiss on the forehead as good as she can give the height difference.

* * *

Living with Katherine is not always easy.

She would zone out from time to time, sometimes almost hurting herself. It was hard for Jane to keep up with her, because the teenager would enter periods of dissociation without previous notice. Other times, her personality would almost change, becoming furious and angry, throwing hateful words at Jane and begging to be back on the street.

But lately, every episode ended up the same, with both of them curling on the sofa watching a movie, until Kat would finally go to sleep.

Jane thought a lot about how her baby is going to be in sixteen years. Most importantly, if her baby will love her. The teenager who was now under her care rarely expressed feelings with words. Judging by how she acted around, the older was sure that they loved each other.

Wondering what could’ve happened if they didn’t meet wasn’t something she was too keen on. Katherine was the person she never knew she needed. Helping her felt so natural, almost like destiny, and Jane couldn’t love her more. The teenager had made her way into Jane’s life, becoming her daughter in all but title.

Jane hopes Katherine will let her be around, wanting nothing more than to see her grow and live the happy life she deserved.

* * *

Jane’s family were visiting, and Katherine felt nervous to the core. She knew how much the older woman loved her siblings, and if they didn’t like Kat, she might kick her out.

It was impossible to think about it, but Katherine knew better than to get too attached, even if Jane was the kindest person to her in a long time, so was Culpeper, and it didn’t mean kind was good.

“How is my little princess?” Jane’s father asks.

He looks like Jane; both share the same blue eyes. The word  _ princess _ makes Katherine flinch, but she tries to cover her emotions. She toys with the pink dress Aragon gifted her from the spring edition of the magazine, while trying to ignore all the people who get into the restaurant.

“Dad, let me introduce you to Katherine. Kat, they are my father and siblings.”

“Hi, I’m Edward and he is my brother, Thomas.” One of them announces. “And my sisters, Dorothy and Elizabeth.”

Katherine is both glad and nervous none of them try to initiate physical contact, not sure if that was Jane’s recommendation or just their way to let her know she is not welcomed.

“I’m Katherine.” She replies, trying not to sound rude.

“Shall we order? I’m starving.” Jane announces, resting a hand on her stomach.

* * *

“Was her family amicable?” Anne questions.

She picked Katherine from the restaurant, trying to give Jane and her family a moment to themselves.

“Yes, they were kind.” Katherine replied, making herself smaller on the car seat. “She has a brother, Edward. He explained every family detail to me so I wouldn’t get lost when they talked about their extended family.”

Elizabeth was almost asleep on the back of the car, which led to the teenager deciding to ride in the front seat.

“That is nice.”

“They are buying her a new apartment.” Katherine blurs out. “They already did.”

“They must have money.” Anne adds, eyes fixed on the road.

“Yes. It is a three-bedroom apartment, and she asked me to move in with her. Like, living twenty-four seven with her.” Kat continues. “I haven’t said yes yet.”

“Do you want to?”

That was a real, fair question and Katherine didn’t know the answer.

A part of her wanted nothing more to have the security and protection Jane offered, late nights watching movies, waking up and having breakfast, going back to school, graduating. But she wasn’t sure she was able to do that, if she was destined to have that kind of happy life. The idea that Jane might kick her out any moment was something she couldn’t erase, but still, she decides to take a chance.

“I think so, yes.”

* * *

“Why did father do that?” Jane questions Edward.

“Do what?”

“Buy me a new place.” The woman states as if it’s obvious.

“You are having a baby. His first grandson. Of course he wants the baby to have a room.”

“And why the room for Katherine?”

“Do you not want her?” He questions.

“I do, a lot. But none of you do.” Jane speaks hurtful.

“We want whatever makes you happy. And if adopting a girl from the street is that, we are going to welcome her as one of our own.” The brother gives his sister a smile. “We are family.”

“Do you think she will want to be a part of it?”

“Your family? Sure. Not so sure about Dorothy, she is not likeable.”

They share a laugh.

* * *

“Jane stop it! It hurts!” Kat says, trying to get the older woman away from her hair.

“Don’t apply so much pressure!” Cathy indicates.

Braiding hair is harder than what she thought it would be. Parr is giving the directions, while Jane is trying to keep up.

“Sorry sweetheart, but this is hard.” Jane excuses herself. “Is there not something easier to do? Like a beginner braid or something?”

“This  _ is  _ the beginner’s braid Jane. It’s just a French one.” Cathy says. “Look.”

She takes Katherine’s hair on her hands, and starts braiding it quickly. In a moment she finishes half of it, doing a tight ponytail instead of finishing the braid.

“See?”

“I hate you, Parr.” Jane half jokes. “You don’t have a baby bump in your way, it’s not fair.”

“Shut up and just admit you can’t do a braid.”

Kat laughs, watching her reflection. “You make amazing braid, Cathy!”

“Thank you!” Catherine replies. “Now, let’s give your cousin a hand with the boxes. Or you will end up moving next year with half of the stuff.”

* * *

Jane and Kat move into the new apartment on a Monday, and they have their first fight on a Tuesday.

“I don’t want to, Jane!” Katherine screams, to the top of her lungs.

“Katherine Howard, we talked about this, you are going to therapy. There is nothing to discuss.” Her voice is hard, stern.

“Don’t  _ Katherine Howard _ me.”

There is a slam on the door and the poster Anne bought her falls from the wall.

Jane is speechless, Katherine has never been so aggressive before. Even when she was upset, she was usually calmer, quieter. She hated it; how afraid the girl would look if she got even the littlest upset. Getting mad could be considered an improvement, even if it was not gladly received by the older.

**_Anne Boleyn_ **

_ Hi Jane! Is everything okay? Kat just texted me if I could come and pick her up. _

**_Jane Seymour_ **

_ Yes, it’s alright, we were just discussing therapy. _

“Katherine, come here please!” She screams.

The teenager comes out of her bedroom with eyes full of tears. The old phone with the cracked screen her cousin gifted in her hand. Her knuckles went white from the pressure.

“We have to talk. I’m feeling upset, I won’t deny it. I am not kicking you out nor I feel different about you, but we have to talk.”

“If I say I will go, will you just stop?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to help you. Why don’t we prepare some tea, and then we can talk?”

Katherine nods, Jane walks to her and puts Kat’s hand on her stomach.

“The baby is saying stop being so headstrong.” Jane laughs lightly, the baby kicking Kat’s hand.

The warmth on the woman’s laugh makes the younger girl relax.

**Katherine Howard**

I’m sorry, I over exaggerated. Don’t pick me up, but are we still on for next week?

* * *

Something good about the new apartment is how much space there is for the couch. A big pale blue sofa lays on the middle of the room, opposite to the TV. Katherine would be lying if she said she missed sleeping on the couch, her own bed being much comfortable, and her room made her feel protected. It was something she once had for granted, but having a place of her own was one of the best things that ever happened to her.

As usual of their late nights, they are searching for a movie. Streaming was good, it obviously was, but they had felt into the tradition of looking, going through channels. They found the same comedy months ago.

Watching it again comes as a silent agreement.

When the movie is half over, Katherine calls. “Jane.”

The older does not react, sleeping peacefully.

“I think you are asleep, which is good. I don’t know how to say it really, but I am so grateful and thankful and a hundred other words. You gave me a life again, the chance to be a person, to have joy. And you didn’t have to, but you did.” She squeezes the woman a little, careful to not wake her up. “You are going to be the best mom. I love you.”

Jane tries to not blow up her cover, but the slight smile shines through.

* * *

“Anne is my cousin.” Katherine begins to explain. “She is twenty-nine, and she has a little girl, Elizabeth, she is three. Anne is blunt, maybe impolite. She speaks her mind more than I would even think to, but she is also a good person. She pushes and asks me things I don’t want to think about, and it makes me angry when she does it. I also get angry when Jane asks me things I don’t want to answer, or begs me to do things I don’t want to.”

“Have you talked about this with them? Calmly, trying to understand each other.” Her therapist interrogates.

“No, not really. Jane loves to try and talk things out, but I feel nervous about it, I don’t like to talk about feelings.” She explains.

“Do you not like it or don’t know how to talk about it?”

The question plants itself on Katherine’s mind. It has been so long since the last time she had to actually worry about something that was not only her survival that she is not sure for how long she didn’t think about feelings.

Maybe it was when they stole her first backpack, or maybe the first night on the street. It might have been before leaving her house. She doesn’t remember feeling anything with Francis. Not even with Manox. Maybe her feelings have never been there until yet.

She wishes she knew how to express how much admiration she felt for the woman who showed her that not everything was lost.

* * *

“Jane! Anna called me, are you okay?” Katherine asks, running to Jane’s side.

Anne is by her side, looking worried with her car keys ready.

“Yes love, just a fake alarm. The doctor told me about this, fake contractions are a thing.” Jane explains.

“I just freaked out, okay? Cut me some slack.” Cleves complains.

“It’s alright, I had those for like two months with Elizabeth.” Boleyn puts a hand on Kat’s shoulder. “In case you want, I can drive you to the hospital.”

“No, thank you, Anne.” Jane smiles.

Their relationship was polite, they were not friends, but cared deeply for Katherine and were willing to do anything for the sake of their girl.

“Can you take us home?” Katherine asks.

Anne nods.

Katherine takes a moment to consider what she just said. Home. Jane, the baby, the new apartment. It was home, safe, secure. She felt loved there, at ease.

She wished she could just hold onto it and never let it go.

* * *

Jane feels her stomach constrict into itself.

A contraction, another Braxton-hicks. Except that it feels more painful, and a sense of unease settles in her stomach. She is only seven and a half months, the baby shouldn’t be coming, so she keeps with her chores.

Katherine picks up something that is wrong far too late into the night, her mind deviant and without having the chance to focus onto anything, even if she tried every exercise on her list. But once she does, she thinks it might be too late. Jane is having contractions almost every hour, and refusing to go into the hospital.

“Love, I swear I’m alright, there are still six weeks to go.”

“Don’t do this, let me take you to the hospital, as a precaution.” Katherine pleaded. “We might be in serious trouble if you keep refusing, if there’s nothing wrong we will come back and sleep and maybe watch a movie! But please, can we go?”

The older one takes the teenagers anxiety as something more worrisome that what is happening to her. She doesn’t want to make Kat feel insecure. Knowing her almost-daughter is in constant fear of abandonment, she decides to obey, just for her peace of mind.

* * *

Things are clearly not okay.

Her blood pressure is too high, and she has started to dilate. The doctors are quick to give her two shots, one to try and relax her muscles, in an attempt to cease the contractions, and another one with steroids, trying to help the lung development of the baby. Before Jane realizes, there are at least three beeping machines hanging around her.

* * *

“Love, have you talked with my family?” Jane asked.

Her contractions were more and more frequent, almost switching to active labour.

Jane wants to cry, feeling as if she failed her child. The doctors didn’t want to give her much information except for the stable vital signs of the baby. That was not enough to calm her down. She tried to be calmer, to don’t let her stress affect the birth, but she was beyond scared to be successful.

“I did, your parents didn’t text me back yet. Edward says he is coming, he is picking Dorothy. Elizabeth will be here tomorrow, and Thomas sends his best wishes but he can’t come.” Katherine explains. “How are you feeling?”

“Sore?” Jane tries to laugh, but a contraction hit. “I won’t lie, this is painful. Have you called Anne?”

“Yes, she was free to pick me up when I texted her. I don’t want to leave you alone, though.”

“That’s really thoughtful, Katherine.”

“Jane?” The doctor questions. “Can I check how it is progressing?”

She nods. Katherine holds her hand tightly. He checks the machines, and quickly calls a nurse. The teenager squeezes her hand, and she does the same maybe a little harder than intended.

“We have to do an emergency c-section. The baby’s heart rate is growing faster and your blood pressure is not getting any lower.” He announces. “Do you have someone to be with you?”

“Me.” Katherine quickly says.

“Are you over eighteen?”

“Yes.”

The way she lies feels almost natural, and Jane wonders for a second if she ever had to do that before. Her mind can’t focus on it for too long.

“Kat, you don’t have to come.”

“But I want to, really.” She gets closer and whispers to her ear. “Please, you have helped me so much. I have seen the worst things, I think. Please.”

“No, Kat, you are too young.” Jane says, firm. “Is there anywhere near but not in the room she can stay?”

“She can wait in the neonatal unit.”

* * *

They leave her in a corridor with a bright white light that is driving her crazy. Nobody tells her any news, and Jane’s family are supposed to arrive in a couple of minutes but there is still no trace of them. She feels helpless, unable to do anything and clueless enough to be insecure.

But then a nurse shows up with a baby.

“The mom is alright, but taking a nap.” She explained. “She wanted you to be the second to see him. She said you knew his name.”

The chat they had just months before still on her head.

“Edward. His name is Edward.”

* * *

“He is really tiny. And red. Are all babies that red?” Katherine asks her cousin.

“The ones that I know, yes. Elizabeth was quite big, but still red.” Anne smiles, remembering. “She had to be in a lamp and receive plenty of solar light because the doctors said she was yellow, though.”

“I don’t think he looks yellow, at all.”

There is a silence, not uncomfortable, but not at ease.

“How are you feeling about Edward?”

“What do you mean?” The younger questions.

“I know how close you got with Jane. When George was born, I was so upset, I almost cried for days. It took me a while, but now I love him a lot, even when he gets on my nerves.” Anne took Katherine ‘s hand in hers. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m not sure.”

She didn’t have enough time to think about it, to process that now Jane was a mother. A real mother with her biological son. The space Katherine took was now belonging to Edward.

“I am anxious, a tad frightened and excluded, I won’t lie about it.” A feeling of being exposed started creeping up. “But Jane has been nothing but kind. I can’t feel bad about him when she loves him so much. I love him too, I know I don’t know him, but if he is a little like her, he is going to be a good guy, and God knows we need those.”

Anne smiled, and the teenager embraced her in a hug.

“I’m happy you think like that, Kitty.” She squeezes the girl. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Annie.”

* * *

“Jane, can we talk?”

Katherine is trembling, her voice not above a whisper.

To admit how much she adored the older woman was nerve wracking. She almost couldn’t remember how it was to have a mother, since hers died when she was so young. Mothers were probably like Jane. She felt protected, cared for, near her. Since coming back from the hospital, just the two of them, Katherine really thought of Jane as a mother, as Edward's mother.

“Honey, I’m feeling tired. My legs are killing me. Is it really important?”

She wanted to say yes. To explain how important it was for her, how her life changed for the better since meeting Jane. How much it meant the fact that she felt seen.

“No, not really.”

* * *

Jane feels worse. The ibuprofen is no longer working and her fever is burning up. Not even the idea of going to see Edward can bring her out of bed. Her headache is just getting worse each time, and she feels as if she was going to throw up at any given moment.

Katherine was by her side, trying to help, bringing water and soup, ready for when her mother, or not mother, decides to order her to call for an ambulance.

And she waits.

But Jane never asks, instead Katherine calls when she seems to no longer recognize her voice.

* * *

The teenager is sitting outside the emergency room, in a hall without anybody near her.

Her mind is not there, though, and she feels as if she can almost watch herself as a third person would. Not sure of how much time has passed, she tries to focus on counting numbers, but it doesn’t work. The presence of a doctor doesn’t help either, not even when he tells her the dreadful news. It’s not until she calls Edward, the older, that she realizes what she is saying.

_ Internal organs shutting out. _

_ Say your goodbyes. _

_ Jane is not waking up. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come and scream at me, I deserve it.  
> next update will be probably later next week, since I arrive home on saturday.  
> don't kill me (like I killed Jane). Talk to me on lessix tumblr and send me prompts!


	4. el eclipse no fue parcial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: coma, sepsis, dissociation
> 
> Welcome back! Okay, okay I know it took me a little longer than what I said but here it is! In the next few days I will post an alternate ending in my Tumblr (lessix) and I will explain what is happening with my writing in a note at the end of this
> 
> This is half beta'ed half not, mostly because I finished this early today and didn't wanted to wait for Lexi, still, once she does beta it, I will repost the chapter/edit it. Also, I'm sorry but this is def not the best chapter I've ever written.

Jane doesn’t wake up.

Her whole family is there, in London, watching over little Edward who is still so small that Katherine is afraid he might break at any minute. His skin is red, redder than what she was expecting him to be, and his hair is an undefined colour. Everyone tries to make their guess, over what is from his father and what is Jane’s. Katherine doesn’t participate. Seeing the child through a glass panel does not help. Knowing that him and Jane are fighting for their lives, while she is peacefully sitting watching them makes her heart ache.

The doctors explain that it is called sepsis, what Jane has, and it’s far more common that what people tend to think. It doesn’t make her feel better, instead she searches night after night, long before Anne has told her to go to sleep. She does her research as if she was capable of saving Jane.

She is not.

Instead the older just lays in the bed, tubes coming out of her, and a constant, incessant beeper bothering Katherine, who also doesn’t want to imagine what is going to be of her if it stops.

Hospitals make her think of her late mother, of long afternoons running the corridors, playing, just to go back to the bedroom and see her. She doesn’t think she can stomach any hospital cookie without throwing up, crying or both. Holding soft hands on her own makes nothing to help the memories to stop.

* * *

Living with Anne is not bad, saying so would be a lie.

She sleeps in Elizabeth’s bedroom, full of toys and pink walls. A bed too big for the little girl, but just enough for her. It feels as a usurper, after all she doesn’t belong there. It does not help her with feeling grounded, instead her mind is off, somewhere else, lost in thoughts, memories and a loss of protection.

Anne tries her best, taking vacation days, cooking Kat’s favourite’s foods and taking her and Liz to the park. It doesn’t work, none of it helps, and after three days the teenager feels her breaking point coming soon.

* * *

“Hello, Kat?” A voice the other side of the phone speaks.

“Hi Anna, what’s up?” She tries her best to sound confident, but instead her voice comes out as a broken sob.

“I wanted to check on you, we are planning to visit Jane with Cathy, and wanted to see you too.”

“I’m okay, I really am.” She conquers her ability to speak. “I don’t know when I am going to the hospital, but if you are there it will be good. I’m sure Jane would appreciate that.”

There is a silence, neither parts speaking.

“Yes, I think she would.” Cleves makes a pause. “Where are you staying?”

Katherine knows what the older is trying to ask.

_ Are you back on the street? _

“I’m with Anne, she is actually just arriving home,” she lies, “I’ll call you later, bye!”

She cuts the call.

* * *

She stops visiting her therapist.

After all, it was Jane who did the appointments, the one who took her to and from there. Even when her cousin offers to help, she knows it’s not the same. Katherine doesn’t want to talk anymore, about anything. The idea of having to sit through a whole hour makes her already feel tired.

So, she stops.

* * *

“You are always welcomed here, Kat.” Edward, the older, smiles.

He hasn’t stopped saying that in the week Jane hadn’t been awake. Her whole family treats her kindly, but she knows deep down that they don’t care about her.

Her mind is slowly drifting into thinking that it all was a lie. She didn’t have a home, never had. What Jane gave her was no more than an illusion.

“Thank you, Edward.” She tries to imitate his kind tone.

Looking down to her dress makes her feel uneasy. She would prefer a pair of jeans, but dresses make her look more angelic, more of a child. Maybe if she looked guiltless enough, they wouldn’t question her.

The first time Jane and her went to the hospital, the woman was passed up. Doctors interrogated her, thinking she tried to rob the older, or something else. Nobody believed in her, until Jane awoke and the blood test came.

But Jane was not waking up this time.

She was lying in bed, without even breathing on her own.

“As soon as we have any news, we will call you.” He says.

Katherine starts slowly walking to the entrance, trying not to cry. She has to not look vulnerable.

She is aware that calling Anne to pick her up is the logical thing to do, but instead she decides to walk on the street, just to calm her nerves before talking to her cousin. It’s not so cold anymore, but still her body feels a little chill until it doesn’t.

Katherine knows the streets of London as well as anyone can, after all, they were her home for more than a year. Walking through the same brings a strange feeling of security. No one can kick her out, or say she doesn’t belong. It doesn’t feel like the hospital, cold, with the Seymour family stare at her, nor like the apartment, warm, a home. Still, it feels hers. A sense of belonging she craved since the moment Jane started to keep distance from her.

She loses track on time, and when she realizes the night is beginning and she is nowhere near Anne’s apartment. Taking her phone there are almost thirty missed calls. Guilt creeping back in, her trembling hands call her cousin.

“Katherine, where are you?” She screams.

“Near Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.” The girl answers, her voice low.

“I’m going to pick you up, what happened to you? I went to pick you up from the hospital and you weren’t there. I almost had a heart attack.”

“I’m sorry I just wanted to go for a walk and didn’t realize it was late, I’m really sorry–“

“No, stop apologizing.” Anne cuts her short. “Just– never do this. Ever again.”

Her cousin’s voice is serious, more than what she ever heard her be. Katherine wants to flee the scene before she finds her, but doesn’t want to get yelled at. It’s easier if she doesn’t fight, and she knows it.

“I will be there in five.” Anne says. “Don’t hang the call.”

* * *

Online school is definitely not what she wanted, but at the same time Katherine couldn’t stomach the idea to start presential school. Last time she attended was a long time ago, and now everything seems  _ harder _ . Being surrounded by literal kids who were at least two years younger than her was not going to help feeling normal.

It doesn’t help that summer is just starting, but Anne is pushing for her to fill all the paperwork as soon as possible, and she can’t say no. For the last week the older cousin was constantly watching over the younger, worried after the incident. Katherine felt asphyxiated, even the Seymour family didn’t take their eyes away from her. She was never alone, and it started to drive her crazy.

At moments she felt so overwhelmed that her mind just totally disconnected from situations, to the point she couldn’t hear or really visualize what was happening, instead her mind wandered somewhere else, making up scenarios of what would be happening if Jane was awake, or if Jane had always been there for her.

None of them are true, but they bring the teenager an odd sense of comfort.

* * *

Fighting was usual with Jane, but the woman never got to scream at the teen.

Instead she would just calm down, drink a tea, just to then confront the situation, trying to get the both of them to work together and make an arrangement. She tries to resolve problems over talking and bonding, and even when Katherine didn’t feel like doing it, Jane stayed to just help her figure out her emotions.

Fighting with Anne is not like that, she shouts, is loud, too loud.

But Boleyn is not a bad person, she checks on Katherine and assures her that she is just worried. She never makes the teenager feel afraid, doesn’t let it go too far, but she makes sure she is listened. Still, they hug after a discussion, and laugh at their own antics.

Katherine doesn’t feel at risk, she can’t deny it, but it doesn’t make her miss Jane any less.

* * *

“Kits, what’s going on?” Anne asks.

It’s past midnight and she should be sleeping, but thoughts are invasive and she can’t quite relax enough to fall into the numbness of a dream. Her mind doesn’t stop, and she wants to hit her head with the next doll she finds. Her cousin’s presence brings her a new wave of anxiety, so suddenly that she can’t shut her mouth.

“ _ Please _ don’t kick me out.” The teenager whispers. She tries to be smaller, to occupy less space.

Her whole body tenses when Anne sits on the bed and puts a hand on her, stroking the girls hair.

“I won’t Kitty, I never will,” the older says, “what makes you think that?”

“You hate me.”

“I don’t.”

They stay in silence for a while, Katherine holding back tears, trembling, and Anne trying to make her calm down.

“I don’t want to go to the hospital anymore.” She states.

“It’s okay, do you want me to talk to Edward?”

“Please.”

* * *

Katherine doesn’t show up in the hospital, not anywhere near it.

Anne is the one who has to go, and ask Jane’s family to let her inside the apartment to gather Katherine’s things. She is who receives the daily updates of what is going on with the woman and the small child. But even when she tries to tell Katherine about it, she declines, quickly changing the subject or urging Anne to get out of her (or rather Elizabeth’s) room.

All Katherine can feel is a pit in her stomach. Feelings easily come and go, without an explanation just one moment of grief would invade her, and then there would be nothing. No real feeling, not love nor missing, just a big emptiness around her.

She felt alone. Even when months before her situation was worse, she feels more alone now. So much happiness plagued her for a moment, that now it felt like falling. It was easier when everything was lonely, when she didn’t have to care, but now she did.

Katherine cared so much that she couldn’t let herself understand what was happening.

* * *

“And… and we had orange juice!” Elizabeth explained.

Kat was sitting on the front seat of Anne’s car, with the little girl in the back.

A month has passed, and almost a week and a half since Katherine heard the news for the last time. Her curiosity wasn’t letting her rest, but the dreadful need of thinking Jane was getting better was stronger. Living with Anne was not going without a fight, but they were growing comfortable around each other, knowing when not to push about something.

“That’s great Liz.” She said, putting on a smile.

“You are going to brush your teeth when we get home, alright?” Anne checked with her daughter, who nodded.

“Kit, can we see a movie tonight?” the kid asked, “please?”

The teenager tenses. Family night watching a movie was what she would do with Jane, and hoped to one day do with her and Edward. At some point it feels like betraying the woman who so kindly offered a place to stay.

“It’s okay if you say no, Kitty.” Anne states, giving Elizabeth a look.

“No, it’s alright. I can’t stop my life forever.” She gulps. “Of course we can Liz.”

* * *

Katherine finally breaks down after five weeks.

The tiredness is obvious at that point. She hasn’t slept well in weeks, feeling out of her mind most of the time. A detachment from reality that held her into a somewhat normality, now breaking was what made her fall into really understanding what was going on.

Jane had a sepsis. They had to perform a lung surgery and a tracheotomy to try and keep her alive. And Kat hasn't visited in weeks, because she feared being there.

It hits her at that moment, when she is just eating lunch alone, with nothing out of the ordinary.

She realizes that in true reality nobody is sure if the older woman is waking up, if Edward is going to get through his delicate state. And it pains her, bringing her to tears. Because she can finally process it, and grief comes in a river. It comes with the remorse of her own actions, of how she managed the bitterness of the situation.

It invades her until she can’t feel anything else.

When it eats her completely, to her very bones. When it comes with old memories, with an  _ I love you _ that was left unsaid, and the possibility that it will always be like that. That Jane will never return to her, never hearing the three words.

Anne finds Kat curled up in the sofa, head aching because of dehydration. And Katherine mutters the eight letters time and time again, afraid that if she doesn’t it will be her last chance to say it.

She is not going to risk not telling people how much they meant to her, ever again.

* * *

“I missed –miss– you.” She says.

Katherine slowly sits on the chair next to Jane. Her courage back, enough to make her come back. Jane looks better, the scars on her chest slowly healing, and it seems that now less tubes come out of her.

“I don’t know if you can hear me, but I miss you,” the teenager takes the older woman’s hand on her own, “I miss our talks, you wouldn’t believe what happened the other day with Liz. Before here I went to check up on Edward and he’s getting prettier, less red. I don’t know why am I so obsessed with him being red. They are releasing him soon, but I’m sure you know that.”

She stops talking, and moves to slowly brush Jane’s golden locks.

“Your whole family is out there, and I’m still scared of them,” Kat laughs nervously, “they treat me well, but I know they do it for you. I would be kinder for you. I  _ am _ . If it wasn’t for all the altruism you showed to me, I wouldn’t think that there are good people out there.”

She returns to sit still, a hand falling to the skirt of her dress.

“If you are tired Jane, it’s alright. You already did enough.” She chokes, as tears start falling down. “You did more than enough, you can rest if you need to. Just know that I love you. As the parent I don’t remember having, as the merciful woman who took me into her house. I love you, even when we screamed at each other, or when you tried to give me braids. I loved watching Paddington with you, I was also lost and looking for a family.”

Katherine takes a moment, drowning the crying.

“But if you have to go, I will be fine. I am strong, and Edward is strong too. We will survive, but we will always remember you, mom.”

* * *

Katherine learns more about herself with Lizzie than she ever thought she would.

She is just a kid, her little cousin (even if by dictionary they weren’t exactly  _ cousins _ ) who apparently adores her from the moment they met. She shows her dolls, and teaches any new game she can think of. Elizabeth is smart, probably smarter than the average kid, but Kat thinks she might be biased.

Katherine finds it comforting to let herself get lost into non-sense games, just for the sake of laughing. They play hide and seek for hours, even from time to time shutting out the lights and trying to find each other in the dark.

The teenager feels younger than what she has felt in years, a calm feeling growing inside of her.

* * *

“Hi Kat!” Anna exclaimed.

“We missed you, kiddo.” Parr moves and embraces the teen into a hug.

“I know you have been here the couple of weeks I wasn’t coming.” She says, shyly hiding away her face.

“Yes, and we totally missed you.” Cathy smiles. “I have been dying to have someone to do a new type of braid I learnt, may I?”

Katherine nods, sitting on the chair next to Jane.

“How is work?” The teenager questions.

“Boring,” Anna states, “but that’s usually how adult life works. How are you doing?”

“I think I am better,” Kat explains, “moving with Anne wasn’t easy at first but we are finding common ground. I am also coming to terms with knowing that she might not wake up.”

The room goes silent, and Cathy stops braiding for a moment. Nobody speaks a word, but watching Jane’s chest going slowly down and up makes them feel bad about talking the fact that maybe this was all. They are already giving her a future no-one hopes for her to have.

“I know it’s morbid.” Kat says. “But it’s true.”

“We know.” Anna whispers. “I guess in half a year she really became a part of our lives.”

“That’s true.” Cathy adds.

“A very important part.” Katherine concludes.

* * *

Katherine decides to ask Anne if she might give therapy another shot, while being scared out of her mind.

She knows it’s not cheap, and the anxiety of having skipped it for weeks now makes her not wanting to go back. But deep down, a need of getting better obligates her to try again. After all, the last time she went, it was better. Having the opportunity to take things out of her mind, to try and talk about what was normal and what wasn’t.

Therapy helped her to discover herself.

She discovered that she often felt pull apart in two. For once, the child she once was, full of innocent, expecting the best of the world, hoping for a better tomorrow, eating cookies in a hospital, dancing with her siblings, wearing her bright pink sneakers. But there was another one of her, the one who seen the injustice in the world, who had been manipulated for the people who should’ve cared about her.

Katherine needed therapy, needed to understand what to expect, why was her life so complicated.

When Anne said that she would call the therapy next thing in the moment, a hope started to creep back into the younger. Maybe she hasn’t lost all the progress she had made.

* * *

“The little monster is finally asleep.” The teenager announces, getting into the kitchen.

“You, my dear cousin, are a life saver.” Anne dramatically states. “She really listens to you. It’s amazing.”

“Oh, I know.” She laughs.

They stay into a comfortable silence, that only lasts for minutes, before Anne asks: “You have never exactly told me how you and Jane met. If it’s a sore subject, you don’t have to tell me, but I’m interested.”

“It’s alright.” Katherine smiles sadly. “It was before winter, and I can’t remember our first meeting. But days after it, she gave me food… Jane was the first person in a long time who didn’t acted as if I was invisible. People just do that, they pass next to you on the street, not even giving you a glance, no matter if you are doing everything to gain their attention.”

Kat starts sobbing, her eyes growing redder, full with tears.

“But she did.” Anne finishes.

“Yes, she did. When you are on the streets, you are almost not even a human, but she started caring for me…”

The cousins stay awake for most of the night, Katherine explaining to Anne how exactly Jane has rescued her.

At the end of it, when the exhausted teenager already passes out, Boleyn gives herself the time to think about Jane. She can’t imagine how much had Kat went through, but she knows that without the older woman she would’ve never been able to help her cousin.

Anne is glad she stayed awake when a message hits her phone.

* * *

“Anne? What are you doing here?” Katherine asks.

Her cousin usually didn’t show up until an hour or two later, the time when her shift ended.

“I have something to tell you.”

The teenager’s heart starts beating fast, fearing the dreadful news. She feels her legs trembling, and her whole body following.

“Jane woke up yesterday.”

“What? What do you mean she woke up yesterday?”

“Yes, we wanted to wait, to be sure she was reacting well, and she is. She can’t talk, and her state is still delicate, but she woke up, which means that she is better.” Anne puts her hands on Katherine’s shoulders. “Kat, look at me, focus.”

The teenager is still shaking, watching Anne in stupor.

She can’t believe it, as she couldn’t when the first news arrived. In the almost two months she had adapted to the idea that the woman who took care of her was not coming back, but apparently the miracle happened.

“Kat, are you okay?”

The teenager smiled. “I’m just surprised, that’s all.”

She launches herself on her cousin’s arms, quickly hugging her. Anne, being bigger than her, does the same, helping the girl to steady her breathing and shivering body. She kisses her head, but Katherine doesn’t notice.

The news were too good to just believe them.

* * *

Jane is lying in bed, trying to get her mind to process what was happening again.

Being seven weeks out of conscious meant that no part of her body functioned as it was supposed to, not looked like it did before. A scar on her front, that would probably reduce its size in due time, was a clear sign of the surgery she had to undergo. Her incapacity to properly talk, her soggy brain, how slowly she felt weren’t helping either.

But when Katherine crossed the door, for a moment it all disappeared.

A warm feeling growing inside her, as she gave herself the time to admire her almost-daughter. Almost two months weren’t so much time, still, the pink ends of her hair were now dirty blonde, only with a fainted old colour of the one it used to be. She was smiling, her face red after smiling so much.

Not even giving two steps, she landed quickly by Jane’s side, taking her hand. The older did her best attempt to squeeze it, which must have been worth it, seeing the girl smile growing, before falling into crying.

The teenager releases a breath she didn’t knew she was holding, letting herself believe that finally Jane was back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank all of you for reading, as always, comments are kudos are really appreciated!
> 
> About my writing and my life, I'm starting uni in a few weeks (it's my second year!! but still I'm nervous lmao) and for that reason I'm kinda busy (more than what I was the past few months at least). I will keep writing and posting, but it will get slower, for that I'm really sorry.
> 
> This fic will get one more chapter, just fluff and what happened with Kat and Jane, I know most of you want a happy ending and this one is just too open and doesn't explain a lot. Also, another ending where Jane dies will be found in my tumblr in the next few days, even though it will be pretty much similar to this one except the ending.
> 
> My next planned fanfics are:  
> -Finishing the ghost AU (yes, I haven't posted the second part and I know it, and I'm sorry)  
> -Finishing the infamy series (next Infamy is either Jane or Catherine Parr)  
> -A reincarnation AU, where Parr adopts Kat   
> -A science focused one shot (I wish I could say who will it be about, I first thought of Anna, then Anne, then Parr, then Anne again, I still don't know)  
> And of course, I might start another thing at any moment or also if someone wants to my prompts are open!
> 
> (There is also a social media AU, that follows what's going on in Katherine's phone in this fanfic, but I probably won't post it)


	5. bonus — un sorbo de distracción

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NOT A CHAPTER but a sort of social media recap, from Katherine's phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha u guys thought I would actually upload something? well, no:)   
> I swear I'm super busy with online college (but good news I'm getting average grades which is... honestly hard for me rn), and haven't been writing much (or maybe just writing 10 fanfics and not actually finishing anything)  
> this is not a chapter, but just what was going on in Katherine's phone before the epilogue (that I swear is half done), so count this as a recap!
> 
> obviously Lexi helped me with this (as always), and she even let me slip a joke (if someone catches it, that person is the coolest, I don't make the rules)

_Follow **khoward** on Instagram! _

* * *

**_Anne Boleyn_ **

_Hey, are you alright?_

_I just got your calls._

_I was at work._

_Are you okay?_

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_No, I’m not. Can you please pick me up as soon as possible?_

**_Anne Boleyn_ **

_Yes, just wait until I can get out of here._

_Where are you?_

_What happened?_

_Are you hurt?_

_Katherine, are you okay?_

_I will text Jane._

_Text me your direction when you can._

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_I’m sorry, I over exaggerated. Don’t pick me up, but are we still on for next week?_

**_Anne Boleyn_ **

_Of course Kit._

_Text me if you want me to go._

* * *

**_History_ **

_Today_

18:39 laws for teenage jobs england – Search with Google

18:38 jobs for sixteen years old in england – Search with Google

18:36 jobs for teenagers england – Search with Google

* * *

**_Jane S._ **

_Kat, I’m going to be late today._

_Order a pizza, there’s money on the counter._

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_kay_

_what kind?_

**_Jane S._ **

_Whatever you want._

_Just no pepperoni, I don’t think I can stomach it._

_And please something with olives._

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_kay!!!_

* * *

**_Reminder:_ **

Buy flour for Jane’s pancakes.

Buy more pads.

Buy something for Anne’s bday.

_Note saved 3 minutes ago._

* * *

**_@khoward_ ** _tweeted:_

why is Lizzie so cute while eating ice cream?

_[ID: A photo of Elizabeth Boleyn with her face dirty with ice cream. She is smiling, holding a half-melted cone. END ID]_

**_@BoleynGirl_ ** _replied to **@khoward** :_

Remind me again why did I let you give her ice cream?

**_@khoward_ ** _replied to **@BoleynGirl:**_

‘cause u loveeee meeeeee

* * *

**_khoward_ ** _posted a photo after a while, check it out!_

_[ID: A sink, patches of pink hair dye covering it. The box of pink dye sits on the counter.]_

* * *

_Join **@queenofthecastle** , **@callmecathy** and **@Seymour_Jane** following **@khoward**._

* * *

**_Jane_ **

_Text me when I have to come and pick you up from therapy._

_If you don’t feel comfortable, we can find a new therapist._

_Don’t worry about it._

_Just remember to text me._

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_I am sorry._

_I just got out._

_I got lost in the conversation._

**_Jane_ **

_Was she nice?_

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_yeah_

_yeah, she was_

* * *

**_@callmecathy_ ** _tweeted:_

Late night coffee is valid, and I don’t care about anything else.

_3 minutes ago._

**_@BoleynGirl_ ** _tweeted:_

I never thought I would have to wait until ELEVEN O’CLOCK to drink wine, but here I am, waiting for my child to go to sleep.

_1 hour ago._

**_@queenofthecastle_ ** _tweeted:_

Today’s photoshoot was the best

_[ID: Two images. The first is a camera with blue candy lying around it. The second features Anna of Cleves showing her tongue, which appears to be blue. END ID]_

_9 hours ago._

**_@queenofthecastle_ ** _tweeted:_

Ugh, do I really have to go into work today???????

_15 hours ago._

* * *

**_Anne_ **

_Kit._

_Kiiiiit._

_Kiiiiiiiit._

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_wut_

**_Anne_ **

_I’m outside_

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_kay_

_coming_

* * *

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_Hello, Jane is going into labour. Doctors gave her shots and other stuff to try to stop it, but they were unable to do so. Please, come here as soon as possible._

**_Edward Seymour_ **

_Thank you, Kat._

_I will talk with the family._

_Okay, I’m going now. I will pick Dorothy up in the middle._

_Tell me if something new happens._

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_Will do._

* * *

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_Jane is going into labour_

_I don’t want to leave her alone_

**_Anne_ **

_It’s okay, Kitten._

_Just text me if you want me there._

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_I will._

_Can you please come?_

**_Anne_ **

_Sure, will be there in twenty._

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_thank u_

* * *

**_Working girls_ **

_Anna of Cleves added Katherine Howard to the group._

**_Anna of Cleves_ **

_Any news?_

_Jane gave me your number btw_

**_Cathy Parr_ **

_Text us when the babe is born, love_

_Don’t worry with updates unless something important_

_Also, do you need something?_

**_Anna of Cleves_ **

_Where are you staying tonight?_

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_Sorry. Jane is alright, and the baby is as healthy as he can be. His name is Edward, and he’s in neonatal care right now._

_I’m staying with Anne tonight, thank you for asking._

_[1 photo attachment]_

**_Cathy Parr_ **

_He is so cute!_

_Take care Kat!_

**_Anna of Cleves_ **

_Prettiest baby I have ever seen!_

_Count with us Kat!_

**_Jane_ **

_Mate._

_Anesthesia is really powerful._

_Katherine Howard abandoned the group._

* * *

**_Seymour_Jane_ ** _posted a photo after a while. Check it out!_

_[ID: A baby in an incubator. The tag shows in big capital letters the name “EDWARD SEYMOUR”. He is wearing a diaper and a blue cotton hat. END ID]_

**_BoleynGirl_ ** _, **khoward** and 78 others liked this photo._

**_callmecathy_ ** _oh my god!! He’s here!! And he already stole my heart!!_

**_Seymour_Ed_ ** _my nephew is just as handsome as his name sake I see_

**_AragonOfCatherine_ ** _Congratulations, Jane!_

* * *

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_Jane can go home tomorrow, I’m coming with her to help_

_Edward has to stay in the hospital_

**_Anne_ **

_Alright_

_Do you want me to drop your stuff at the hospital or to your house?_

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_House, tomorrow_

_But can you bring me my toothbrush?_

**_Anne_ **

_Sure_

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_Your the best_

* * *

**_khoward_ ** _just mentioned **Seymour_Jane** in a story._

_[ID: A sofa, with a blanket folded neatly on one of the cushions. A sticker can be read with the quote “Home, sweet home”, and a part of Jane arm is visible, with the hospital bracelet that she hasn’t yet removed. END ID]_

* * *

[CALL TRANSCRIPTION]

[OPERATOR:] Ambulance Service, is the patient breathing?

[CALLER:] Hello, she is breathing, yes.

[OPERATOR:] And is the patient awake?

[CALLER:] Yes. No. I’m not sure, she is in and out of consciousness.

[OPERATOR:] Can you explain what happened?

* * *

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_Edward, Jane started having some kind of delusional fever, I called the ambulance and we are in the hospital right now, please come here as soon as possible._

_[1 location attachment]_

* * *

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_Anne_

_I know is late_

_I’m in the hospital with Jane_

**_Anne_ **

_What happened?_

_Which hospital?_

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_[1 location attachment]_

_I’m not sure, she complained about her legs and then she had fever_

**_Anne_ **

_I’m on my way_

_Do you need a toothbrush?_

* * *

**_@queenofthecastle_ ** _tweeted:_

I always forget this show is SO GOOD.

_5 hours ago._

**_@cofaragon_ ** _tweeted:_

Check the latest article about the new gold trend, link in bio!

_7 hours ago._

**_@callmecathy_ ** _tweeted:_

Are you telling me?? People wake up?? At 7?? Because they want to??

_22 hours ago._

* * *

**_History_ **

_Today_

05:26 postpartum sepsis survival rate – Search with Google

05:24 postpartum sepsis treatment – Search with Google

05:24 postpartum sepsis causes – Search with Google

05:23 postpartum sepsis – Search with Google

05:22 post partum sepsis – Search with Google

* * *

_Missed call from **Anne**._

_Missed call from **Anne**._

_New message from **Anne** : _Katherine, please answer my calls.

_Missed call from **Anne**._

_New message from **Anne** : _Where are you? I am at the hospital.

_Missed call from **Anne**._

* * *

**_Edward Seymour_ **

_Anne came looking for you, but you weren’t here. Is everything alright?_

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_Yes._

_I’m okay._

_Also, here’s her number._

_[1 contact attachment]_

* * *

_Check the latest **Seymour_Ed** post!_

* * *

**_Blocked Accounts_ **

_Seymour_Ed_

* * *

**_@BoleynGirl_ ** _tweeted:_

Anyone have movie recommendations for monster1 and monster2?

**_@khoward_ ** _replied to **@BoleynGirl** :_

Am I monster1 or monster2?

**_@callmecathy_ ** _replied to **@BoleynGirl** :_

This beautiful fantastic is so good

**_@BoleynGirl_ ** _replied to **@khoward** :_

Yes.

* * *

I miss you. I miss you so much and now my head hurts and I don’t know how to tell you because you are there and I am here. But I miss you because you were here for me and I’m not there for you. And it feels so bad and I’m so sorry, I’m really sorry Jane, but I really miss you and I want you here with me. Please Jane please come back.

_Note saved 17 minutes ago._

* * *

**_Anne_ **

_I just talked with Edward._

_Are you okay to go today to the hospital?_

_There’s no rush._

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_Is okay._

_When are we going?_

**_Anne_ **

_I can pick you up in half an hour_

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_Alright_

_Yeah it’s cool_

_See ya_

* * *

**_History_ **

_Today_

16.15 Online schools London stories – Search with Google

* * *

_( **khoward** :) **BoleynGirl** liked your post_

_[ID: Elizabeth and Katherine, both eating from their slices of pizza. They are in the same pose and dressed in pink making silly faces. END ID]_

* * *

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_Just went to see Jane._

_She is fine._

**_Anna of Cleves_ **

_Oh thank you!_

_I will let Cathy know_

* * *

**_@khoward_ ** _tweeted:_

If Jane doesn’t do a post like the I lived blablabla she will be missing a great opportunity

_3 hours ago_

* * *

**_khoward_ ** _I missed this_

_[ID: Katherine is holding Edward, next to Jane’s bed at the hospital, Jane is looking at them with a fond look. END ID]_

**_queenofthecastle_ ** _, **BoleynGirl** and 3 others liked this photo._

**_callmecathy_ ** _the cutest!_

* * *

**_Edward Seymour_ **

_Hey! Is Jane still at speech therapy?_

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_Yes, apparently they want her to also start physical therapy soon_

**_Edward Seymour_ **

_Alright, thank you._

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_Your welcome_

* * *

**_@queenofthecastle_ ** _tweeted:_

Parr be on time challenge

_16 minutes ago._

**_@callmecathy_ ** _tweeted:_

The clock, my worst enemy…

_57 minutes ago._

**_@cofaragon_ ** _tweeted:_

No way you will want to miss the latest article by **_@callmecathy_**. Photographs by **_@queenofthecastle_**.

_2 hours ago._

**_@khoward_ ** _tweeted:_

“Hospital food is not as bad as people pretend it is” I say after five weeks of eating hospital food.

_2 hours ago._

* * *

**_Anne_ **

_I am going to pick up you, Jane and Edward in around 15 minutes_

_Should I get Lizzie’s old car seat for Edward_

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_His stroller turns into a car seat_

_So we should just use that_

**_Anne_ **

_Alright_

_I’ll text you when I’m near_

* * *

**_@khoward_ ** _tweeted:_

I’m getting great at helping Jane with the wheelchair, it’s my hidden talent

**_@callmecathy_ ** _replied to **@khoward** :_

The idea that you weren’t always great worries me

**_@khoward_ ** _replied to **@callmecathyl:**_

It used to worry her too :)

* * *

**_Jane_ **

_Kat, do you want to come to my bedroom and watch a movie?_

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_Yes, on my way in_

**_Jane_ **

_Good, I missed our movie nights._

**_Katherine Howard_ **

_Don’t worry, we have lots of them to come_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me in the last chapter end notes: haha I did this but won't post it  
> me, two months later: ok here it is I have nothing better
> 
> comments and kudos are always lovely, also come and say hi on my tumblr (lessix), or ask me for my discord!


	6. no hay nada mejor que casa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FIRST Thank you so much Lexi because she didn't only beta'ed but also added some parts because this is not my best work, but thank you for making it way better.  
> Second, finally the last chapter! I know it took a long time and it's not great but fluff is not my thing.  
> Third: today is my birthday and now my mind is older and I'm so happy I just finished calling my friends so I thought to post now.
> 
> TW: mentions of... well, Katherine's story. I don't think it's worse than AYWD, but in case someone doesn't want to read it, it starts with "how did therapy go?"

It takes Jane seven weeks to be allowed home.

Despite her best efforts, recovery is a lot for the new mother. She has to learn to breathe, sit and talk again. Her body not responding after having slowly shut down for weeks, to later come back. Recovery is painful and infuriating, needing constant help is getting on her nerves.

Katherine is by her side through the whole ordeal. She helps to set Edward on her lap, the young baby already quite a bit bigger than when he was born. She learns to understand what the older woman wants and to communicate with her.

When Jane is allowed back to the apartment, Anne and Jane’s family decide that Katherine can do so too, even when they frequently visit to help.

* * *

“Kat, I think it’s time you dye your hair.”

Jane laughs at the worrisome face Katherine makes. It is true that the colour had completely faded, but she hasn’t cared about it much. There were more important things to think about. But now she was realizing that for the past weeks she hadn’t exactly taken much care of herself or how she looked.

“We can ask Anne to buy the dye and bring it to us, she is coming for tea later, right?”

“Yes, she is.” Katherine says. “We could go and buy it though. I mean, tea is a few hours away.”

“If you feel up for it, I would love to.”

Katherine takes the wheelchair, helping Jane to get settled in. She passes Edward to her, with a new pair of clothes, while she goes to change her slippers for sneakers. Once they are all settled, she helps Jane, pushing the chair.

“Don’t try to drive it yourself, the floor is dirty and you will get your hands or sleeves dirty and then it will get on Edward.”

“I know, Kat, I know.” Jane says, in a soothing voice.

“It’s just that I’m afraid. I don’t want to lose you again.”

“And you won’t, honey.” The older woman assures. “Now, let’s go to get that dye.”

* * *

Hospitals stop scaring Katherine as much, but she can’t say the same about needles.

Anne and Jane had decided some time ago that they wouldn’t push her to go to the doctor, but still gave her an ultimatum. With some weeks left of it, the teenager asked to have an appointment scheduled. The blood test is not as bad as she thought, but to say she didn’t spill a few tears would be a lie

Her test results had shown the bad news they expected, but luckily nothing worse.

She had anaemia, low calcium and high cholesterol. Living on the street included not having as much access to nutritious food, so problems were to be expected. With a new diet and some controls, they anticipated Katherine to be healthy in no more than four to six months, which wasn’t that much time compared to what she expected.

The prospect of being well gave the teenager even more hope than what she already had.

* * *

Movie nights became the norm again.

Every Tuesday when Edward was already asleep, Jane and Katherine would start looking for something new to watch, mostly settling in romantic comedy or a Disney movie, rarely deciding on a specific type of drama or some really aesthetic film.

Those nights Katherine fell asleep in Jane arms, feeling protected, a life she had thought was not hers anymore.

* * *

It troubles the younger girl, how much she wishes to talk to Jane, never finding a moment to do so. The fact that a few months before it was the only thing she could think about now practically erased from her mind, but there is just so much to do. Life tends to get hectic once you have it back.

Her online schooling, Jane’s recovery, her psychologist, Jane’s appointments, Edward’s doctor. Their schedules are so busy that she can’t even begin to think what to say to her. Where to start the explaining, if from her own past, or just from the moment they met.

But life is good, better than before. Not only is she not alone, but she has more people than ever.

Anne never pushes, aware that she will ask for help in her own time. Sometimes offers for her to stay the night at her house, but those are just a few, counted by the fingers of one hand that she accepts, never wanting to leave Jane alone but also trying continuously to give her space.

* * *

Bouncing the baby in an attempt to calm him down goes better each time. At first, she was too scared to do so, but slowly Edward had learned to trust her. His eyes were just as blue as Jane’s, which gave Kat the courage to keep trying to get him to stop being upset.

“You are fussy today, huh? Would a lullaby work?” Katherine wonders, before starting to mindlessly sing: “ _Let’s go to sleep, there is a dream we can share.”_

She moves the baby, trying to get him into a better position.

” _Just you and me, in a floating sea, in the air.”_ The teenager continues, her voice carefully steady. “ _What’s left below? We’ll never know_.”

The boy stares at her with his big eyes, slowly relaxing while she holds a hand to his chest. His breath becomes steadier, no longer threatening to start crying.

” _You are the moon, in a quiet night, terrified.”_

The soft fabric of his pale-yellow pajamas makes it easy for her to brush her hand through his arm. When her finger reaches his hand, he holds it with all his strength.

“ _Reach for the cloud, I’ll be around and by your side.”_

Carefully, she elevates him just enough to kiss his forehead.

“Kat, what are you doing here?” Jane asks.

“I just thought it would be easier for me to take him, I didn’t want to over step, I’m sorry-“

“It’s totally fine, but you need sleep. Teenagers need more sleep than adults.” The older interrupts.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“Did you have a nightmare?”

“Something like that.” She admits. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“It’s totally fine.” Jane rolls her wheelchair to be closer to Katherine. “That song was beautiful. I haven’t heard you singing in so long. You have a beautiful voice, Kat.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Can you sing it again?”

* * *

“Thank you for coming to help.”

Jane was in her wheelchair, holding a sleepy Elizabeth while Anne tried to put Edward down for his nap. They had grown to be comfortable around each other, both caring deeply for the teenager who was sleeping down the hall.

“Don’t thank me. I should be the one saying that,” Boleyn admits, “you reconnect me with her.”

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s not. You show a kindness that no one else does. My family is… complicated to say the least.” She slowly leaves the baby in his crib. “I haven’t actually talked to my father in a long time. And if I had known what Katherine was going through, I would have done something, I should have.”

“Don’t blame yourself.” Jane asks. “It is not your fault what happened.”

“But I could’ve done something to make it better, easier.” Her face falls, and for the first time Jane is able to tell in how much regret the other woman felt. “I knew her mother had died, and I knew she went to her step-grandmother’s house and then I cut communication and I should have known, I should have stayed.”

“Maybe you should have, but you didn’t.” The blonde stated. “You did what was good for you, for Elizabeth. No one can blame you for that. And you are here now.”

“I love her.” Anne confesses, her lip trembling, eyes full of tears.

“I do too.” Jane smiles, reaching out to hold her hand. “And she knows she is loved.”

“You think so?”

“I do.” She rests a hand on the small girl resting on her lap. “I won’t lie, I can’t even imagine what she went through, and it was really hard at first and I don’t know how we made it work, but we did and the rest of that is the past. She now has us, she has you and Elizabeth. And we are never going to leave her alone again.”

“Never.” Anne agrees.

* * *

“Are you okay there, darling?” Jane wonders.

Katherine seemed unable to focus on the screen while the movie was playing, which was not rare at all. Even when after some months of therapy, it had become less common, her zoning out was still a problem.

“Yes, it's just… do you love me?”

It comes out small, barely above a whisper. So vulnerable it breaks Jane’s heart. The older for a moment can’t respond, shocked for the question. Has she done something wrong? How can’t Katherine know how much she adored her?

“You don’t have to answer,” the younger girl is quick to say, “I mean it.”

“No, I want to answer.” She takes one of Katherine’s hands on her own. “Oh, baby, you are freezing!”

“Your hands are always warm.”

Jane smiles, lovingly. “I adore you, honey. I love you as much as I love Edward, and it might be forward, I won’t say it’s not, but I consider you my daughter. I can’t, and won’t imagine a life without you in it. So, if that answers your question, I love you Katherine. And I’m sorry if I haven’t shown it enough.”

The teenager launches herself to the older woman’s arms, who quickly accepts the hug, giving her a squeeze. She draws patterns on her back as best as she can, in an attempt to calm her down. Katherine just makes herself more comfortable in the embrace.

“You have shown it.” She says. “But it is hard to believe that something so good can happen to me, that I can actually have a family, a future. I love you; I don’t know where I would be without you. You are perfect.”

“I’m certainly not perfect. Don’t believe I can’t have mistakes because I do, and I’m sure that you know that. But let’s promise to always help each other. I don’t want Edward to love me just because I’m his mother, and I don’t want you to love me because you think I rescued you. You are not bound to love me just because I do. It is, and always will be your choice. You should love me if you think that’s right, not because you feel obligated. And if I ever hurt you, you can talk to me. Together, we can always work things out.”

Katherine nods, “but I love you without a reason. I am not even sure the exact moment it happened. It just feels natural, like home. I like feeling safe, and protected. I like being here.”

“Then I’m glad, because I feel the same.”

Jane presses a kiss on the younger girl’s forehead, holding her just a bit tighter. 

* * *

Jane tried to convince herself that not being in the first two months of Edward’s life was not going to make him love her any less, but a part of her was always concerned about it. Every doctor and parenting book insisted how important the first days of life were, how it was the most important bonding time between mother and baby.

But instead she was passed out in a hospital bed, without being able to hold him, or even see him while he was also struggling with his health. Guilt creeped up on her, while thinking how her body wasn’t able to take care of him. He was so small when he was born, even if his growth now was correct for his age, the image of the tiny red baby was not going to leave her mind.

And she left him alone, and Kat along with him.

How many times had he cried? How many times she should’ve taken care of him? Would that affect their relationship in the future?

Being a mother was not in her plans, but without a doubt, she loved her son. The moment she first saw his face was still on her mind. How gorgeous he was, how there was never a love compared to that one. So endless, without doubt. Or maybe there was one, with Katherine.

The way the teenager had won her over was insane, almost impossible.

She would make anything for her, to keep her safe and happy, and she would do the same for Edward. Never in her life she had thought that loving so much would be possible. Nevertheless, her love kept increasing.

Jane had never felt as home as she did now. With her own family, whom she had sworn to protect for life. Even after everything they had to go through, the hospitals, the fears, the problems, they had overcome it, and together, the three of them, would overcome any other thing that came their way.

* * *

“Aragon is having a dinner party next month, at her house. Cathy and Anna are going to be there. My coworkers are coming with their families and I was wondering if you would like to come.” Jane explains.

Edward is babbling, playing, while they make dinner. Pasta night meant that they both had their duties, with Katherine learning how to make Jane’s recipe. Each time they tried, the younger girl got more confident around the utensils, but after Jane’s words she froze, almost burning her sleeve with the stove.

“Hey! Careful there, munchkin.” The older woman takes her hand and moves it. “What happened?”

“I just got panicky, it’s nothing.”

“No, it’s not nothing.” Jane stares at her. “You don’t have to, but you can tell me.”

“Going to her house. I barely know her. While living in the street there was a guy.” Katherine explains, taking a deep breath before continuing. “He was charming, to say the least. His name- He was-”

“Love, are you sure you want to talk about this?” The older one makes sure.

“Yes.” She gulps. “It’s just a bit overwhelming.”

“It’s fine, take your time.”

She makes sure to turn off the stove, and guides Katherine to a chair. The young girl is trembling, playing with her hands. Jane sits next to her, taking her hands, trying to help with the anxiety by holding them firmly into her own.

“His name was Thomas. He was like you, he was kind, he gave me money and food. I was fourteen. He was clearly older, but I can’t remember by how much. He invited me to sleep at his place.” Katherine talks slowly, trying to hold herself steady. “I went. I thought he was not going to harm me. He didn't harm me, I mean. But he made me sleep in his bed, with him next to me, and it was just uncomfortable. I tried to go and he didn’t let me, he said the street was dangerous and I just… He didn’t let me go. That was why I didn’t want to stay with you at first, or why I tried so bad to not fall asleep.”

The teenager starts sobbing, while the mother holds her, trying to calm her down, kissing her forehead and whispering reassuring words.

“I am afraid to go to a stranger’s house, and it’s idiotic but I fear I will get locked up there.” She finally pronounces.

“It’s fine, love, you don’t have to come. We will be fine.” She promises. “We always are.”

* * *

Katherine wakes up to tiny hands opening her eyes in an attempt for her to come around and get up. Elizabeth is staring at her with the biggest smile, before launching herself to the teenager’s arms.

“Happy birthday Kitty!” She screams, holding her closer.

“Thank you so much Liz!”

She takes the girl on her arms, and walks to the kitchen, Jane waiting with Edward in her arms, and Anne finishing making some pancakes.

“Happy birthday, munchkin!” Jane congratulates, smiling warmly.

“You are already seventeen, you are making me feel old.” Anne jokes, giving her half a hug. “Bug, don’t you think it is time to let Kit go so Jane can say happy birthday?”

“No!” Liz indicates, still attached to her relative.

“It’s no problem Anne, and besides, I love this little bug.” She messes a bit with Liz’s hair.

“We have a lot of things to do today.” Jane indicates. “Gifts, then lunch, we got you lemon pie.”

“Thank you!” The teenager screams.

“I still don’t understand how you like lemon pie better than normal cake.” Anne admits.

“And then I’m going to make pasta tonight.” The blonde finishes. “Your favourite recipe.”

Katherine smiles.

The day passes without much complication, but the girl is never sure if it’s real. It all feels like a dream, being surrounded by a family, having gifts, even Cathy, Anna and Aragon having sent some cards and gifts to her. The memories of her past birthdays sour on her mind, getting replaced with a new found happiness of looking forward to when the date came next year.

Maybe it was safe to make plans for next year.

* * *

Katherine can’t help but feel overwhelmed by math. There are too many numbers, and equations and symbols she had already forgotten. It gets mixed together badly in her brain and not only makes her unable to focus but also makes it borderline impossible to think about anything else. She knows it is overdramatic, but not knowing drives her slowly insane. She wants to do well, to have good grades and make Jane and Anne proud.

But her brain doesn’t seem to work that way. Instead, she is trying to remember time and time again what a filled circle means and that if it was between is a different way of writing that if it’s over or under.

Maybe school is too hard or maybe she is just not made for it. She craves success, to be better, but she is already a year behind, if not two. And now she has to take math and she can’t believe it was once her life’s dream to go to school.

Katherine knows it is for a better future, but she still can’t help but fail.

* * *

“How did therapy go?” Jane asks.

Katherine leaves thy keys on the counter, and sits on the sofa, tired after the session. She takes a deep breath, trying to stop the feelings in order to be able to tell the story. It was time, it was necessary. _Other people might not need to express it_ , said her psychologist, _but you apparently do_. _On your own terms_ , she reminded herself.

“Can we talk?”

“Of course, Edward is taking his nap so we have some alone time before he wakes up.” The older one explains.

“I talked about the past.” She makes a pause, with the heart on her throat and the imminent feeling of fear pulsating on her brain. “About why I ran away.”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“No, I think I need to.” Katherine says. “I was young, I can’t remember how old exactly. Everything feels a little foggy. It's like I tried to erase it, but it’s still there. First it was Manox, he gave me music lessons. I remember his touch; his hands on my body. I remember how he lashed out at me when something didn’t go his way. I told my father about how he would touch me in places that made me feel uncomfortable, he said that I wouldn’t want to ruin his life from something so childish, so idiotic. He let it pass until he couldn’t ignore it any longer.”

“Kat…” Jane extends a hand, empathy clear on her face.

The younger girl takes the hand, giving it a squeeze, trying to maintain focus on the story: “Even then, he still didn’t do anything, he just sent me away. And when he did that there was another guy, and it all happened again. I tried to stop it, I tried to call anyone but I was so young. Nobody believed me. Nobody thought it was true. My family had already failed me, now the system was. What was the point of talking, or reaching out, or screaming if no one would hear me anyway?”

She gulps, trying to keep her feelings in check, trying to manage it all.

“So, I ran away. And they found me, and it happened again so I did it again, and again, until they stopped looking for me. And that became it, I was living on the street and nobody wanted a girl who looked that bad. Sometimes strangers would get closer, give me attention, just act in a way that was scary or to quickly disappear from my life. People don’t accept you; stores don’t accept you, it's like you don’t exist. It’s like everything was happening over and over, time and time again. Nobody believed me, and if they did, they brushed it off. They labeled me as the problem. And I labeled everyone else as my enemy.”

“I believe you.” Jane states. “I got you.”

Katherine lets herself be held, she lets herself cry, having admitted all the story at once. She feels the hands again, she feels the dreadful feeling of being scared. She feels the cold of the street, the nervousness before a call. She swears that for a moment she can hear the voice of the woman who picked up the phone when she tried to call the police. She lets it all out. She lets it go.

She tries to heal.

* * *

Edward was a smiley baby. His hair was golden, such as Jane’s, and his eyes were a bright light colour that changed every day. Katherine learnt that after giving him a bottle daily, he would always look up to her and she could swear that his eyes never looked the same.

It was their way of bonding, giving him a bottle and then letting him take a nap, even if sometimes they would both fall asleep after a long day. Articles —and Jane— said that teenagers need a lot of sleep, so instead of beating herself for taking that moment to do nothing, she would take it as more time spent with the baby.

Katherine might never admit it, but she was amazed with how quickly he was growing. Torn apart between wanting him to stay as a baby and looking forward to his first words, his first steps. She wanted to teach him the colours or the alphabet.

Jane sometimes joked that the teenager took her son as a doll, and Katherine would laugh. Other times Jane commented on how much she loves her siblings, and Katherine would think she loves Edward all the same.

* * *

“Penny for your thoughts?” Anne asked.

“I was just thinking about stuff, about college and that.”

“Any idea of what you want to do?”

“I was thinking that it might be good to go to college, I should probably get a job,” Katherine reasons, “but I might be able to make it.”

“The job part we’ll see in time. You know we are doing all in our power to see how to legally proceed with everything right now.” Boleyn reminded her cousin. “Also, Jane and I can help. Any major in mind?”

Katherine considers for a moment, but decides to drop the fight about money for any other given moment, and instead proceeds to tell: “I was thinking maybe something that can get me into social services, or maybe teaching, or even law school.”

“Those are big careers,” Anne says, “I’m sure you would be great at any of those.”

“You really think so?”

“Of course! You are smart, and you have patience. You are constant as well and you don’t give up when you have something in mind. I’m certain that you will crush it in college, like you are doing now in school.”

“But I’m not crushing it, I’m barely passing my classes.” Katherine muffles, making herself smaller, hiding on her shirt.

“I know, but that is more than what I could ask you for.” Her cousin insists. “You haven’t been in school for a while, with everything that happened it was expected that your grades wouldn’t be good at first, but you _are_ passing your classes, and I don’t care about honours or anything like that. Your history teacher might’ve told me that you were excelling in that class though.”

“I just really like history.” The teenager smiles.

* * *

The beach resulted in a good distraction for the warm days, with not only Anne and Elizabeth joining, but also Cathy, Anna, and sometimes Catherine, joining her goddaughter.

It was fun to know her boss outside the office. The older woman proved to be a kind person, who cared a lot for Katherine and tried to give advice to Jane and Anne about raising a teenager. After all, the two of them had no idea of what to do, and what not to, but with Aragon’s help they grew more confident.

Sitting on the sand, realizing how much her life changed since arriving in London, all by herself, she can’t help but smile.

She smiles at Anna and Cathy trying to surf. She smiles at Aragon tanning while reading the latest magazine as if she wasn’t the editor. She smiles at Anne helping Liz to make a sand castle. She smiles at Edward sleeping on her lap. She smiles at Katherine writing all their names in the sand.

And when the night comes, and Katherine’s skin is red for too much sun, she still smiles because it’s time to go home and take care of her loved ones.

* * *

“I think this time it’s right.”

“You said so the past four, or fifteen times.” Katherine mocks. “I don’t need you to do my braids, it’s totally fine, I can do them myself.”

“But I really want to learn. It shouldn’t be that hard.” Jane insists, tugging pieces of hair together. “Tell me if it hurts.”

“It doesn’t hurt since attempt number eighty-nine,” the teenager laughs, “it feels a bit loose though.”

“Fine.” The older concedes. “How did you learn to do your braids?”

“Cathy helped me.” She explains. “It was obviously her. Anne’s hair is always messy, so is Elizabeth, I don’t know if you noticed.”

“It would be hard not to, but it’s not polite to say so.”

“I know, but it’s just between the two of us.” The girl smiles. “When you were in the hospital, she taught me the basics. I watched some videos online too.”

Jane smiles, remembering how that was like. The scars and motor problems are still there, but it gets easier, more normal each day. It becomes less painful, just an old memory in her body that sometimes aches.

“Okay, I think it’s done.” Jane announces.

Katherine reaches for the mirror, watching her own reflexion. Her hair is divided into three thin braids that go into a half ponytail. Her recently dyed hair is brighter than normal, which makes the hairstyle look prettier. The teenager smiles.

“You did it! It’s so pretty!”

“Thank you, honey,” Jane makes some touches, “I feel like it could be neater, don’t you think so?”

“I don’t mind it this way, I don’t think it would stay neat even if you did it tighter. You know how playing with Lizzie and Edward can be.”

“You are right, love.” She laughs. “I’ll count this as a win.”

“Oh, this is definitely a win.”

* * *

“What do you think would be good for today, Eddie?” Katherine asked the one year old in her arms. “I was thinking maybe something different. Another language? I have my Spanish test soon.”

He didn’t respond, just relaxed in her arms, sleep already taking over.

“I think that no matter what I sing to you today you are going to sleep anyway.” She jokes lightly, careful to not scare him.

Jane, who was hiding behind the door had to repress a laugh in order not to be caught.

“There’s a pretty one. I liked it at least.” She continues. “It sounds like a love song, and it is, just not the way it’s expected. It’s about a family receiving bad news, and sticking together. About home.”

Her eyes filled the tears, and the older had to fight the urge to get into the room to hug her, not wanting to interrupt the moment. Under the moonlight, Kat started stroking Edward’s hair. His pale blue pajamas matching her own.

“I had plenty of bad news in my life, I didn’t have a home for a while.” The teenager tells the baby. “Your mom gave me one. And it wasn’t so long ago, but we had faced problems together. We have grown together, became family. It is founded by love. That’s why you’ll always be loved, by your mom, by me. I can promise you that.”

“Katherine.” Jane says, no longer being able to not comfort the girl.

“You were hearing all of it?”

“Maybe.” The mother smiles, sitting in the rocking chair. “Come here.”

Katherine passes Edward to her, who for an instant opens his eyes until recognizing his mother and going back to his sleepy state. The teenager sits on the floor, resting her head on Jane’s lap.

“What was the song, honey?” Jane wonders.

“‘ _Te para tres’_.”

“Would you sing it for us?”

Katherine nods.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked this, please comment and I insist, I'm sorry for it being so late and for probably not be as good as expected. Also come to say hi to my tumblr (lessix) or my discord (lemxnpills#1196).
> 
> Lastly, self-promo time, I have another story that it's called when destiny calls you that has a bit of this idea of found family, and I think I'll be posting it tomorrow (or maybe the day after, I don't know, it's either that tomorrow or a one shot focusing on Anna and Cathy, if someone has a preference just comment.)
> 
> Thank you so much for reading it all!

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are truly appreciated and help me keep going with this, anyway thank you for reading<3 come and say hi to my tumblr (lessix.tumblr.com)


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